South Dakota lawmakers are launching a summer study on the state’s high incarceration rates through the Legislature’s Interim Committee on Incarceration and Re-entry. Unlike previous discussions focused on building new prisons, this effort targets sentencing guidelines, inmate rehabilitation, and reentry support.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced indictments in connection with two fatal drug overdoses at the state penitentiary in 2024. Inmate Manarion Fuse is charged with distributing synthetic drugs that led to an inmate’s death in February and faces up to 70 years in prison.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that 24 inmates have been indicted following a violent disturbance at the Sioux Falls state penitentiary on May 27. The incident left 14 inmates injured, including four hospitalized, and resulted in charges such as aggravated assault, simple assault, and rioting.
Sioux Falls Police are investigating four separate weekend shootings across the city, including incidents near downtown and an apartment complex east of I-229 and 21st Street. While no life-threatening injuries were reported, the shootings have sparked concern among residents.
State prison officials are investigating the apparent suicide of 36-year-old inmate Leo Plenty Arrows, who was found unresponsive in his cell at the Jameson Annex in Sioux Falls on June 20. He later died at a local hospital. Plenty Arrows was serving a sentence for assault on law enforcement in Pennington County.
Authorities have recovered the body of Juan Carlos Oballe Ixquiactap, a 28-year-old Sioux Falls man who drowned in the James River near Mitchell. He was swept away by a strong current Friday afternoon, prompting an extensive search involving drones, sonar-equipped boats, and ground crews.
Sioux Falls police arrested Timothy Farmer on Wednesday morning following a home invasion and armed robbery near South Riverdale Road. Authorities say Farmer entered the home through an unlocked door around 6:40 a.m., pointed a gun at the residents, and demanded car keys and phones before fleeing in their vehicle.
South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation has received a $100,000 grant to boost efforts against internet crimes targeting children. Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that the funding—from the Attorney General Alliance—will enhance the state’s ability to detect, disrupt, and prosecute online predators and human traffickers.
A 22-year-old Mitchell man, Riley Brown, has pleaded not guilty to a fourth-degree rape charge involving alleged sexual contact with a minor. Prosecutors say the incidents occurred multiple times in 2021 when the girl was 14 or 15 years old.
A 57-year-old Letcher man, James Winter, appeared in Davison County court Tuesday facing charges of second-degree rape and aggravated incest.