Mobridge Man Sentenced for Assault

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mobridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault by Striking, Beating, or Wounding following a two-day jury trial was sentenced on November 15, 2021, by Judge Charles B. Kornmann, U.S. District Court.

Luke Newton Mowrer, age 31, was sentenced to seven months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, a $20,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $25.

Mowrer was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 9, 2021, and was found guilty by a federal jury on August 25, 2021.

The evidence at trial showed that on October 6, 2019, in McLaughlin, South Dakota, Mowrer voluntarily and intentionally assaulted an individual with a knife.  Mowrer was sitting in the back seat of a pickup truck when he assaulted the driver.  He then fled the scene while the victim and others reported the crime and sought medical treatment.  The victim suffered a cut to the neck.  Mowrer had been drinking with the victim and some other acquaintances before the assault and unexpectedly lashed out in violence.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Mobridge Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.   

Mowrer was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following sentencing.