Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of South Dakota
15 May 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Brent Janis, age 22, was sentenced on May 8, 2018, to 37 months’ custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Janis was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury in June 2016. The charge related to Janis driving a vehicle, while under the influence of alcohol, on April 8, 2016, at Pine Ridge. Janis lost control of the vehicle, which went into the ditch and rolled. Two individuals were ejected and killed in the crash.

This 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.

Janis was ordered to self-report to a Bureau of Prisons facility upon designation of the facility where Janis will serve his sentence.