Manderson Man Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of South Dakota
18 February 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Manderson, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter was sentenced by Judge Karen K. Schreier, U.S. District Court.

Charles Merrival, age 28, was sentenced on February 11, 2021, to 46 months custody in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Merrival was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2020. The charge related to Merrival driving while intoxicated and killing a pedestrian, who was walking on the shoulder of the highway east of Pine Ridge on May 5, 2020. Merrival’s blood alcohol content was .215% approximately 5 hours after the accident.

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

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