Rapid City Woman Sentenced For Involuntary Manslaughter

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter was sentenced on April 22, 2014, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Lavina Mackey, age 54, was sentenced to 5 years in custody, 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
         
Mackey was indicted for Felony Child Abuse and Neglect, Involuntary Manslaughter, and Operating a Motor Vehicle under the Influence of Alcohol Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury to a Minor Child by a federal grand jury on August 29, 2012.  She pled guilty to the Involuntary Manslaughter charge on December 2, 2013.
         
The charge related to Mackey driving a Ford Expedition while intoxicated on May 4, 2012, near Red Shirt Table on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  Mackey lost control of the vehicle and caused a roll-over accident.  Among the several occupants of the vehicle was an unrestrained three-year-old child, who was thrown from the vehicle and died from his injuries.
         
This case was investigated by the South Dakota Highway Patrol, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.
         
Mackey was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.