North Dakota Man Sentenced for Assault

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Fort Yates, North Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury was sentenced on November 30, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.

Victor Twinn, age 18, was sentenced to 33 months in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Twinn was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 11, 2015.  He pled guilty on August 31, 2015.

The conviction stemmed from an incident on January 1, 2015, when Standing Rock Law Enforcement was notified that a male was in front of a house in McLaughlin, South Dakota, unconscious and bleeding from his ears and head.  Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement arrived on scene and located the victim, lying unconscious in front of a residence.  An ambulance was summoned and the victim was transported to the Saint Alexius ICU in Bismarck, North Dakota.  The victim had severe swelling to his head and face from the assault, and was hospitalized for a period of time due to the injuries he sustained.

Several witnesses at the house identified Victor Twinn as the one who caused the injuries and assaulted the victim.  Twinn and the victim went outside and began to fight, and witnesses attempted several times to break it up. After a brief scuffle, Twinn knocked the victim to the ground and began kicking him upon the head, rendering the victim unconscious.  While the victim was laying on the ground unconscious, Twinn continued the assault by repeatedly stomping on the victim’s head.

Twinn was arrested a short time later and brought to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal jail where he admitted to fighting with the victim and knowing that he took it too far by kicking the victim approximately three times on the head, knocking him unconscious.  Twinn also recalled some people pulling him away, but that he was extremely upset and went back to where the victim was laying and stomped on his head multiple times.  

This case was investigated by the BIA, Standing Rock Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley prosecuted the case.

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