Pine Ridge Man Receives 30-Year Sentence For Second Degree Murder

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota man was sentenced for Second Degree Murder on April 1, 2013 by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Kyle C. Yankton, age 22, was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund. Yankton pled guilty to the Second Degree Murder charge on November 27, 2012.

The murder charge stems from an incident on June 30, 2012 when Yankton unlawfully and forcibly entered a residence in Pine Ridge. Pablo Galindo was sleeping in the basement of the residence, where Yankton located him and struck Galindo multiple times in the head with a baseball hat, causing death by blunt force trauma.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, the Oglala Sioux Tribe - Department of Public Safety, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

Yankton was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence immediately.