Jury Finds Sioux Falls Man Guilty of Carjacking and Carrying and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a federal jury has convicted Elijah Barse, age 23, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, of Carjacking and Carrying and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on May 7, 2025.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of up to life in federal prison and/or a $500,000 fine, up to eight years of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison.

Elijah Barse was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024.

In the early morning hours of November 18, 2023, Barse, along with co-defendant Ronald Goodsell III, approached the victim as he was sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle inside his garage. Barse pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded that he get out of his car. Barse then attempted to drive the vehicle, but upon realizing it was a manual transmission, switched places and allowed Goodsell to drive away. Sioux Falls Police located the vehicle near the crime scene, but their efforts to stop it were unsuccessful. The driver fled from police, which resulted in a high-speed chase through the Sioux Falls. The pursuit was eventually terminated due to safety concerns. Sioux Falls Police located the abandoned vehicle a short time later. Barse and Goodsell were identified from surveillance video by members of the Sioux Falls Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit. Barse was arrested three days later by members of the Sioux Falls Area Joint Fugitive Task Force.

This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and sentencing has been scheduled for August 25, 2025. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.