Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Manderson, South Dakota, man convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter. The sentencing took place on January 23, 2024.
Sequoyah Mark West, Jr., 30, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
West was indicted for Second Degree Murder by a federal grand jury in June of 2023. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of Voluntary Manslaughter on November 17, 2023. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The conviction stems from West killing a man by beating and asphyxiation in April of 2023, at Manderson.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
West was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.