Nevada Man Sentenced for Voluntary Manslaughter

BISMARCK – U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Jan. 24, 2014,Waylon S. Hicks, 22, Schurz, Nev., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland after having been convicted of a charge of voluntary manslaughter by a federal jury on Sept. 20, 2013.

Judge Hovland sentenced Hicks to nine years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Hicks was ordered to pay restitution of $7043 and a special assessment of $100 to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

On July 20, 2012, Hicks stabbed Jeremiah Sage in the chest while the two were in a motor vehicle parked at the New Town Marina on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. According to trial testimony, Hicks exited the vehicle after the initial stabbing, and while the vehicle was in motion, Hicks jumped onto the running board of the vehicle and slashed Sage in the throat twice. Hicks fled on foot and called authorities. The vehicle subsequently caught on fire. Sage’s body was located inside the vehicle after the fire was extinguished. According to testimony from the North Dakota State Medical Examiner, Sage died from the stab wound to the chest.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Fort Berthold Agency, the Three Affiliated Tribes Police Department, the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Dakota State Fire Marshal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Volk prosecuted the case.