United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Mission,
South Dakota, man convicted of Assault With a Dangerous Weapon, Discharging a
Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, and Failure to Appear
was sentenced on September 26, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
William J. Waukechon, age 20, was sentenced to a total of
135 months in federal prison. He was
sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for of Assault With a Dangerous
Weapon, 120 months in federal prison for Discharging a Firearm During and in
Relation to a Crime of Violence, and 3 months in federal prison for Failure to
Appear, with such sentences to be served consecutively, followed by 3 years of
supervised release. Waukechon was also
ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the
amount of $300.
The convictions for Assault With a Dangerous Weapon and
Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence stemmed
from an incident that occurred on June 3, 2018, in Mission, South Dakota. On that date, Waukechon and another
individual were working on a vehicle at the Sunrise Apartment Complex. Following a verbal altercation with the
victim, Waukechon got into a vehicle and proceeded to leave the scene. The victim threw a can of beer at Waukechon’s
vehicle. The driver then stopped the
vehicle. Waukechon produce a pistol,
opened the vehicle door and fired two rounds in the direction of the victim,
striking the victim in the thigh.
Waukechon was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2018. He plead guilty on March 18, 2019.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a
program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities
they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for
everyone. The Department of Justice
reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent
criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with
federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and local communities to
develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The conviction for Failure to Appear stemmed from conduct
that occurred in January 2019. On
January 22, 2019, Waukechon failed to appear in United States District Court
for a change of plea hearing based on the above-described assault. Waukechon was indicted by a federal grand
jury on February 13, 2019. He plead
guilty on March 18, 2019.
These cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, and the U.S.
Marshals Service. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted these cases.
Waukechon was immediately turned over to the custody of the
U.S. Marshals Service.
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