Phyllis Lucero, Assault with Intent to Commit Murder and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, South Dakota 2017

Phyllis Lucero, a 48-year-old resident of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, was sentenced to 20 years in custody for Assault with the Intent to Commit Murder and 10 years in custody for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, both charges to be served concurrently, after being found guilty of brutally assaulting a 73-year-old woman and her adult male companion in their home on the evening of October 17, 2015.

Lucero, along with co-defendants Daniel Hess, also known as Jason Hess, and Seth Hernandez, broke into the victims’ home wearing masks to disguise their appearances. Once inside, the two male defendants assaulted and strangled the adult male victim until he was unconscious. Lucero, on the other hand, assaulted the elderly female victim with her hands, feet, and a dangerous weapon, leaving her lying in a pool of blood.

The trio then proceeded to steal personal property from the victims, including cash, and loaded it into the elderly woman’s brand new pickup truck. They fled the scene, leaving the victims behind. When the male victim was later found, he was bound with an electrical cord and duct tape, while the elderly woman had her hands and ankles bound with duct tape.

Both victims were transported to the Rapid City Regional Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, where they were found to have extensive bruising and lacerations to their heads, bleeding on their brains, and rib fractures. The elderly woman required 17 staples to secure her lacerations.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Ben Patterson prosecuting the case.

Phyllis Lucero was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after being sentenced. The total amount of the special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund is $200.

Exact charges: Assault with the Intent to Commit Murder and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.

City and state: Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

Exact date: February 27, 2017.

Sentence or outcome: 20 years in custody for Assault with the Intent to Commit Murder and 10 years in custody for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, both to be served concurrently.

Dollar amounts: $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

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