⏱ 2 min read
On a chilly evening in November 2024, Eagle Butte, South Dakota, store owner watched in horror as a masked gunman shot out the front window and swiped a stash of ammo. Fast forward 14 months, the culprit, 26-year-old Nathanal Benoist, is locked up for 14 months after a federal judge handed down the sentence.
The FBI and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Service dug up the evidence, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen took it to court. Benoist pleaded guilty last July, and his fate was sealed.
Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence, scored another win with this conviction. But critics wonder if it’s enough to stem the tide of violence in the reservation communities.
Benoist’s sentence includes three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and forfeiture of the stolen firearm and ammo.
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📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Violent Crime
- Defendant: South Dakota
- Location: SD
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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