United States Attorney Dennis Holmes announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding, was sentenced on March 14, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Donald Big Eagle, Jr., age 37, was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and eight months in federal prison for Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding, with the sentences to be served consecutively, followed by three years of supervised release. Big Eagle was also ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, totalling $125, and to pay restitution in the amount of $400.
Big Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 8, 2020, and he pled guilty on October 4, 2021, for the charge of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. For the charge of Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding, Big Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 8, 2021, and pled guilty on October 4, 2021.
The Assault with a Dangerous Weapon conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on November 23, 2018, in Fort Thompson, in which Big Eagle repeatedly stomped and kicked an intimate partner, while wearing steel-toed boots. As a result of the assault, the victim sustained serious bodily injury to her torso, including multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
The Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on June 10, 2020, in Fort Thompson. While sleeping in his vehicle, the victim was drug out of his truck and was beaten by a group of people. An investigation in an unrelated matter led to DNA evidence and a confession from Big Eagle that he was a member of the group that assaulted the victim.
These cases were investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services, Crow Creek Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.
Big Eagle was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.