Mark Allen Isham

BOIS FORTE – A Bois Forte man with a history of domestic assault charges has filed an appeal of his most recent conviction to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mark Allen Isham, 61, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison in mid-November after his conviction on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and another count of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury, stemming from a domestic abuse incident that occurred in March, 2023 in the Vermilion sector of the Bois Forte Reservation. He was found not guilty of a third charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.
It was the latest incident in a series of abuse cases involving Isham and the same woman, identified in court records as CRK, committed over the past 20 years.
Isham was first convicted of assaulting his girlfriend in California in 1997, according to a court document that did not identify that victim. His first conviction for misdemeanor domestic assault involving CRK was in Bois Forte Criminal Court in 2004, followed by a conviction for domestic assault in St. Louis County District Court in 2005. He had subsequent misdemeanor assault convictions in the Bois Forte court in 2008 and 2010. In 2014, this time in federal court, Isham was convicted of domestic assault by a habitual offender and given a two-year prison term.
Current case
According to a release from the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s office and various court documents, beginning on or about March 13, 2023, Isham repeatedly and violently assaulted CRK after he had picked her up from a Virginia treatment center and brought her to his home on the reservation. The physical assault escalated on Mar. 19, 2023, when Isham became angry and started punching CRK with a closed fist. Isham kept his victim trapped inside the house for days without access to her wheelchair. On March 24, 2023, CRK managed to call 911 while Isham was outside chopping firewood. A Bois Forte Police officer and St. Louis County Sheriff’s deputy arrived at Isham’s home shortly afterwards. Isham initially denied the victim was inside, prompting CRK to call out to make her presence known. Injuries observed by the officers included a split lip, black eye, and bruising on her arms, legs, and head. An ambulance was called to transport the victim to a local hospital. CRK’s injuries required surgery to repair a broken jaw resulting from the violent assault.
While awaiting trial, Isham was charged with witness tampering for allegedly trying to influence CRK’s testimony. According to statements from an FBI agent investigating the allegation, Isham contacted CRK by phone repeatedly over a period of four months to either convince her not to testify or to influence her testimony in a manner favorable to Isham’s case. He reportedly told CRK that he had “served enough (prison) time for bullshit like this.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Leo Brisbois found probable cause to move ahead with the witness tampering charge, but it was later dismissed at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Isham’s sentence of 70 months in prison was significantly more than the 41 months defense attorney Aaron Morrison argued was “sufficient, but not greater than necessary” in a presentencing filing. The sentencing order from U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez gave no specific rationale for the sentence, although it can be assumed that the sentence is in line with applicable sentencing guidelines. Upon release, Isham will serve three years of supervised release, during which time he has been ordered to not to consume alcohol, to participate in substance abuse and domestic violence rehabilitation programs, have no contact with CRK without prior consent from a probation officer, and submit to reasonable searches.
Isham’s attorney filed an appeal of the case with the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 24, but no proposed grounds for the appeal were available. In a subsequent filing, it was noted that Isham was, at that time, being held at the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River.