Pine Ridge Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of First Degree Murder and Discharge of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence. The sentencing took place on July 6, 2023.

Colton Bagola, 30, was sentenced to life in federal prison for the First Degree Murder charge and a consecutive 10 year sentence in federal prison on the Firearm charge. He was also ordered to pay $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Bagola was indicted for the charges by a federal grand jury in January of 2020. He was found guilty following a federal jury trial in Rapid City, South Dakota, in October of 2022.

The conviction stems from Bagola shooting a 30-year-old male in the back of the head killing him on December 17, 2019, at Pine Ridge.

This matter was 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.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Gina Nelson prosecuted the case.

Bagola was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.