Manderson Man Indicted for Murder

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a federal grand jury has indicted a Manderson, South Dakota, man for Second Degree Murder.

Sequoyah Mark West, Jr., age 29, was indicted in June of 2023. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on August 4, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

In April of 2023, at Manderson, West killed a man by beating and strangling him.

The charge is merely an accusation and West is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

This matter is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

The investigation is being conducted by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth is prosecuting the case. 

West was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.