Men Plead Guilty in Assault Case
BISMARCK - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on
January 17, 2012, Virgil Standing Crow, 20, of Bismarck, N.D., pleaded guilty in U.S.
District Court to a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Lyle Red
Tomahawk Jr., 21, of Fort Yates, N.D., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a charge
of aiding and abetting Virgil Standing Crow in the assault resulting in serious bodily
injury.
On August 14, 2011, Standing Crow and Red Tomahawk attacked the victim, with
Standing Crow hitting him in the face numerous times, because the victim had befriended
another person on Facebook. The victim suffered a fractured orbital bone, which required
surgery to repair.
The charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and the charge of aiding
and abetting each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a
$250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs - Standing Rock Agency.
Sentencing for Standing Crow has been scheduled for April 30, 2012, in U.S.
District Court in Bismarck, N.D., at 9:00 a.m. Sentencing for Red Tomahawk has been
scheduled for April 30, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Bismarck, N.D., at 10:00 a.m.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme is prosecuting the case.
