Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Stabbing Brother on Pine Ridge Reservation

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on November 18, 2024.

Jadan Poor Bear, 31, was sentenced to one year and eight 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. Poor Bear's prison sentence is to be served consecutively to a sentence he received for another assault Poor Bear committed on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

A federal grand jury indicted Poor Bear for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in March of 2024. He pleaded guilty on August 27, 2024.

On March 23, 2023, Poor Bear used a knife to stab his brother in the upper chest and shoulder, after an argument. The brother suffered serious injury, including a pneumothorax of his chest and intra-abdominal bleeding. He was life-flighted by helicopter to a hospital in Rapid City, where he underwent surgery to repair his injuries.

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, rather than State court.

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Poor Bear was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.