03/17/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/17/2026 08:32
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Contact: Tony Mangan,Communications Director, 605-773-6878
PIERRE. S.D. - South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the final defendant convicted in a 2022 double homicide in Rapid City has been sentenced to life in prison.
Montell Olivera, 29 of Rapid City, received three life sentences when he was sentenced Friday in Pennington County Circuit Court. He had earlier been convicted by a Pennington County jury on two counts of First-Degree Murder and one count of Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Murder.
"This sentencing completes an extensive effort by law enforcement and prosecutors to bring finality to this case," said Attorney General Jackley. "The families of the victims have received justice."
Olivera, along with Dillon Wilson, 22, and Erin Provancial, 45, (female), both of Rapid City, were convicted by a Pennington County jury in the August 2022 shooting deaths of Joseph Standing Bear, 29, of Norris and Petan Milk, 37, of Rapid City. The two other defendants were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of two counts of Aiding and Abetting First-Degree Murder and one count of Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Murder.
A total of eight individuals were charged in connection with the homicides and events that followed. The remaining charged individuals entered into plea agreements and testified for the State during the trial.
On Aug. 20, 2022, the group drove to the Surfwood Apartments in Rapid City. Three of the eight individuals remained in the vehicle, while five entered the building. Once inside, Olivera shot both Standing Bear and Milk multiple times before fleeing the apartment. The group then left the scene in the waiting vehicle.
Agencies that investigated the case were the Rapid City Police Department, Pennington County Sheriff's Office, South Dakota Highway Patrol, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office and the Pennington County State's Attorney's Office.
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