Wounded Knee, South Dakota Man Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter

RAPID CITY, SD—U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a man charged with involuntary manslaughter was sentenced on February 28, 2011, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken. Russ Hollow Horn, age 47, of Wounded Knee, was sentenced to 51 months’ incarceration, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $100 to the Victim Assistance Fund. The issue of restitution will be determined in the near future.

Hollow Horn was indicted for involuntary manslaughter by a federal grand jury on June 15, 2010. On January 25, 2010, Hollow Horn was driving his pickup truck on BIA Road 27, and prior to operating his vehicle had consumed alcohol. His blood alcohol content (BAC) was approximately .227 (three times the legal limit). Hollow Horn’s intoxication caused him to drive his pickup truck in an unsafe manner, resulting in him crossing over the center-of-the-road dividing line and colliding with another vehicle. Four individuals occupied the other vehicle, and three were killed as a result of injuries sustained in the collision. Hollow Horn pled guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter on December 6, 2010.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Law Enforcement Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg S. Peterman prosecuted the case.

Hollow Horn was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons once a facility for service of his sentence is designated.