Former Kickapoo tribal chair indicted for assault

BROWN COUNTY ( KSNT ) – A former Kickapoo official has been indicted for multiple assault charges that took place on the reservation within the past year.

The former chairman of the Kansas Kickapoo Tribe, Lester Randall, was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury Thursday. The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas posted on social media that Former Tribal Chairman Lester Randall was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in the Kansas District on four counts for violations of the the federal Major Crimes Act.

District of Kansas courts filed an indictment stating that Randall is accused of four counts of assault. The indictments claim that Randall knowingly, willfully and intentionally assaulted his spouse on four different occasions in the past year at the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, Indian Country, resulting in multiple emergency room visits.

The first count of assault is for an incident on or about Sept. 29, 2023, where Randall struck his spouse with a wooden bowl, resulting in substantial bodily injury that resulted in a hospital visit.

The second count is for Randall physically striking his intimate partner in the head with an X-Box headset on or about April 9, 2024 that resulted in substantial bodily injury.

The third assault count refers to an incident on our about April 17, 2024. In this incident, Randall reportedly strangled or attempted to strangle his partner, sending the spouse to the E.R., according to the district courts.

The fourth and final count takes place on or about April 25, 2024 when Randall assaulted his spouse with a dangerous weapon, an aluminum baseball bat, with the intent to do bodily harm. Randall was arrested by local law enforcement for aggravated domestic battery.

If Randall is indicted on all four counts of assault, he could be served a 25-year prison sentence and fines totalling $750,000, according to the courts. According to Kansas District Court records, a preliminary hearing is set for July 31.

For more crime news, click here . Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts . Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.