McLaughlin Man Sentenced for Assault

ABERDEEN - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a McLaughlin, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on October 21, 2024.

Ronald Long Feather, 25, was sentenced to 34 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Long Feather was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2023. He pleaded guilty on July 23, 2024.

Shortly before 7:00 p.m. on March 9, 2023, in McLaughlin, which lies within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, a belligerent and intoxicated man hurled a plastic snow shovel at Long Feather's front door, damaging the screen. Long Feather, heavily intoxicated himself, stepped outside and confronted him on the stoop. During the ensuing scuffle, Long Feather stabbed the man in the neck. The man fled on foot to his uncle's home, who turned him away, opining the blood would scare the children. No one called 911. The man wandered the snow-covered streets of McLaughlin until Good Samaritans rendered aid and called for an ambulance. The man's heart stopped twenty minutes before reaching the Mobridge Hospital. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

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 FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

Long Feather was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.