Eagle Butte Man Sentenced For Assaulting His Common-Law Wife

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Domestic Violence Assault by Striking, Beating and Wounding, was sentenced on September 17, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno.

Harold Picotte III, age 40, was sentenced to 18 months of probation, 6 months of home confinement, and a $25 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
         
Picotte was indicted for Assault by Strangulation by a federal grand jury on May 13, 2014.  He pled guilty to Assault by Striking, Beating and Wounding on July 17, 2014.           The conviction arose from an incident on February 20, 2014, at Eagle Butte, when Picotte got into an argument with the victim, a woman with whom he was cohabitating.  Subsequent to the verbal argument, Picotte struck, beat, and wounded the victim, his common-law wife, with whom he has lived as a spouse for several years.       
         
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson prosecuted the case.