Red Lake Man Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter in Connection with 2009 Incident

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota
May 16, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in Duluth, a 21-year-old Red Lake man was sentenced in connection with the death of a teenage girl that resulted from an automobile crash. United States District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced Kyle Mitchell Lee Hardy to time served, along with three years of supervised release on one count of involuntary manslaughter. Hardy was indicted on June 7, 2011 and pleaded guilty on November 14, 2011.

In his plea agreement, Hardy admitted that on August 28, 2009, he drove a pickup truck within the boundaries of the Red Lake Indian Reservation while under the influence of alcohol. Hardy also admitted that when he failed to negotiate a turn in the road, the two juveniles riding in the truck’s open bed were thrown out. One of them suffered a broken ankle, while the other died.

According to police reports, Hardy, who was age 18 at the time of the incident, had been drinking at a party in Redby that evening. Then, at approximately 1:00 a.m., he decided to drive to Ponemah. Two juveniles accompanied him, both of them riding in the open truck bed. Hardy was driving along side another vehicle when he approached a curve in the road. He failed to turn appropriately, causing his pickup to leave the road.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.