Eagle Butte Man Sentenced for Assault

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury was sentenced on February 21, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Timothy Bear Eagle, age 33, was sentenced to 60 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Bear Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 17, 2017.  He pled guilty on December 1, 2017.

The conviction stems from an incident on September 7, 2017, when Bear Eagle was arrested by a police officer with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, for being intoxicated at an elderly person’s home.  Bear Eagle was transported and booked into the CRST Adult Detention Facility, within the Walter Miner Law Enforcement Detention Center in Eagle Butte.

Initially, Bear Eagle was compliant.  He sat down and was taking off his shoes, when he heard over the law enforcement scanner that his girlfriend had also been arrested and was being brought in.  Bear Eagle got angry, stood up, and threw his shoes to the floor.  A correctional officer went to grab onto Bear Eagle and Bear Eagle went towards him in a threatening manner, swung his right arm, and struck the correctional officer with a closed fist on the left side of his face, next to his left ear.  The blow broke the correctional officer’s jaw.  Bear Eagle was immediately taken to the floor by other officers and handcuffed.

The correctional officer was taken to the Indian Health Services Emergency Room.  He was then transported to Rapid City where his jaw was wired shut.

This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller prosecuted the case.

Bear Eagle was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.