Wanblee Man Sentenced for Participating in a High Speed Chase and Shooting Incident

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of South Dakota
14 July 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Wanblee, South Dakota, man convicted of Aiding and Abetting and Discharging a Firearm During Commission of a Crime of Violence was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Austin Lee Chipps, Sr., age 24, was sentenced on July 6, 2018, to 10 years in federal prison, to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Chipps was charged on May 23, 2017. The charge related to Chipps driving at speeds over 100 miles per hour in order to elude Oglala Sioux Tribal police officers, who attempted to stop his vehicle. During the chase, other individuals in the vehicle fired at the officers with an AR 15 rifle, which they had previously stolen.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

Chipps was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.