Jadan Poor Bear, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, South Dakota 2024

Rapid City, SD – A Pine Ridge man has been sentenced to a year and eight months in federal prison for stabbing his brother on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Jadan Poor Bear, 31, pleaded guilty to Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in federal court on August 27, 2024.

The sentencing took place on November 18, 2024, with U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handing down the sentence. Poor Bear was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Poor Bear’s prison sentence will be served consecutively to a sentence he received for another assault he committed on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A federal grand jury indicted Poor Bear in March of 2024 for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, to which he pleaded guilty.

The violent crime occurred on March 23, 2023, when Poor Bear used a knife to stab his brother in the upper chest and shoulder following an argument. The victim suffered serious injuries, including a pneumothorax of his chest and intra-abdominal bleeding, and was life-flighted to a hospital in Rapid City for surgery.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in federal court, rather than state court. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division investigated the crime. Poor Bear was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following the sentencing. The case serves as a stark reminder of the violent crimes that plague the Pine Ridge Reservation and the importance of federal oversight in these cases.

This is a developing story, and Grimy Times will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

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