Parmalee Man Pleads Guilty To Assaulting A Federal Officer

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that William Rahn, age 27, of Parmelee, South Dakota, appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on August 29, 2013, and pled guilty to a Superseding Information that charged him with Assaulting, Resisting and Impeding a Federal Officer. 

The maximum penalty upon conviction is 8 years of imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and an additional 2 years of supervised release upon revocation.  Restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund may also be ordered. 

The charge stems from an incident wherein Rahn was driving erratically, attempting to elude Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation.  He drove his vehicle directly at a parked police unit, and came within feet of hitting the vehicle.  When Rahn finally stopped his vehicle on a dirt road, he resisted officers’ attempts to pull him from the vehicle and the resistance involved physical contact with an officer.  Rahn was tazered whereupon he became compliant.

The investigation was conducted by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher is prosecuting the case. 

Rahn was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing, which has been set for November 21, 2013.