Porcupine Man Sentenced for Assault on a Federal Officer

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault on a Federal Officer was sentenced on July 28, 2021, by Judge Karen E. Schreier, U.S. District Court.

Griffin Lee Cross, age 26, was sentenced to 2 years of probation and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Cross was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in September 2020.  He pleaded guilty on April 23, 2021.

The conviction stems from an Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Officer responding to a report of an intoxicated individual at a residence near Porcupine on February 12, 2020.  Cross was intoxicated and the officer arrested him.  While escorting Cross to the patrol vehicle, Cross threw his head back, making contact with the officer’s forehead and causing the officer to fall backwards. 

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Criminal Investigations Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.