PIERRE - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Parmelee, South Dakota, man was acquitted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence following a federal jury trial in Pierre, South Dakota, on May 7, 2026.

Joey Kills Plenty, age 26, was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2025.

The charges related to an allegation that Kills Plenty assaulted a man with a firearm in August 2025, in Todd County in the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office because federal law mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

The investigation was conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case.