Eagle Butte Man Jailed for Strangling Partner

Ronnie Antelope, Sr., a 55-year-old man from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on November 7, 2016, for Assault By Strangulation and Suffocation, a violent attack that left his partner battered, choked, and barely conscious. U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange handed down the sentence after Antelope pled guilty to the charge, one of two counts in a May 2016 federal indictment.

The assault unfolded over two harrowing days in April 2016, beginning when Antelope, already intoxicated, showed up at his partner’s workplace accusing her of infidelity. He caused a disturbance, was arrested by local law enforcement, and his vehicle was released to the victim. But the next day, the violence escalated—after the victim dropped off the car at the jail, expecting Antelope to remain locked up, she found him waiting. He seized control of the vehicle—and her.

Antelope, now free, forced the woman into the car and refused to let her out when they reached her job. He drove her across the region, shadowing her every move, drinking heavily, and hurling accusations. The abduction stretched through the day until they returned home, where Antelope slammed the car door on her leg, grabbed her by the throat, and squeezed until she struggled to breathe, crying and begging him to stop. She later said she blacked out.

When she came to, she was fleeing—only to be chased down, thrown to the ground, and dragged by her hair toward their residence. Her left arm and jaw fractured in the assault. Scratches carved into her neck, bruises bloomed on her cheek and forearm, and her leg bore the mark of the car door’s impact. It was a neighbor’s intervention—shouting at Antelope and calling 911—that finally stopped the attack.

Antelope, also known as Ronald Noisy Hawk, Sr., was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 17, 2016, on charges of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Assault By Strangulation and Suffocation. On August 15, 2016, he admitted guilt to the strangulation charge. In addition to prison time, he was sentenced to two years of supervised release, fined a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, and ordered to pay $1,995.00 in restitution for the victim’s lost wages.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services led the investigation into the attack, a case prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Miller. Following sentencing, Antelope was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service. The case stands as a brutal reminder of the terror domestic violence inflicts—and the federal reach when such crimes occur on tribal lands.