POCATELLO — A 20-year-old local man was sentenced to over three years in federal prison for assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office of Idaho.

Malik Ish, of Fort Hall, received a sentence of three years and three months in federal prison for striking a victim in the head with a machete, fracturing his skull, according to court records.

The Fort Hall Police Department received a call about a disturbance at a residence on the Fort Hall Reservation on Oct. 18, 2019, court records show.

On scene, officers found a witness who said a person had been struck on the head with a machete.

The witness saw Malik Ish, 20, of Fort Hall, strike the victim on the head with the machete. The victim was later located at the hospital where he was being treated for a skull fracture, court records show.

Police obtained a search warrant for the residence and located the machete in a bathtub, along with other evidence. Ish was interviewed and admitted that he was angry at the victim and went to the residence to find the victim, intending to hurt him. He stated that he struck the victim over the head with the blunt side of the machete blade.

The prison sentence imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye was in addition to the six months that Ish had already served in the tribal jail based upon the same conduct, resulting in a total of three years and nine months of incarceration. Judge Nye also ordered Ish to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Ish pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 7, 2021.

U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Hall Police Department, which led to charges.