Lower Brule Man Sentenced for Assaulting a Federal Officer

U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Lower Brule man charged with Assaulting a Federal Officer was sentenced on November 29, 2011, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange. Damon LaRoche, age 36, was sentenced to 60 months in custody and 3 years of supervised release.
LaRoche was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2011. He pled guilty to a Superseding Information in September 2011.

The conviction stems from an incident on the 4th of July, 2011, when a law enforcement officer responded to call to remove LaRoche from a residence. When the officer attempted to rouse LaRoche to take him to another location, a physical struggle ensued, and LaRoche bit the officer on his hands and arms several times, puncturing the skin in several places. The biting caused the officer serious bodily injury and extreme pain.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.

LaRoche was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshal to begin serving his sentence.