Manderson Man Sentenced For Voluntary Manslaughter

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Manderson, South Dakota, man convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter was sentenced on April 21, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Leonard David Yankton, a/k/a Lenny Yankton, age 38, was sentenced to 114 months in custody, 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
         
Yankton was indicted for Second Degree Murder by a federal grand jury on August 13, 2013.  He pled guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter on December 19, 2013.
         
The conviction relates to an incident that took place on August 2, 2013, when Yankton and the victim were drinking at a home in Manderson Housing and begin to argue.  The fight was eventually taken outside, and Yankton killed the man by repeatedly striking him in the head with a metal bar.
         
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.
         
Yankton was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.