Agency Village Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that an Agency Village, South Dakota, man was sentenced on June 8, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.

Felix Duane Johnson, Jr., age 27, was sentenced to 30 months in federal custody, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  Johnson was also ordered to pay $4,373 in restitution to the victim’s family and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

According to court documents, on December 17, 2019, in Roberts County, Johnson unlawfully committed involuntary manslaughter, when a minor child in his care drowned in a bathtub.  The victim was approximately 11 months old at the time of death.

Johnson was the only adult in the residence at the time the child drowned. He was the person responsible for taking care of the children in the home because his girlfriend, the victim’s mother, was working at the time the child drowned.  Johnson admitted that the death of the child was his responsibility and was a result of his gross neglect and lack of due caution and circumspection.  Johnson further admitted that while the child was in the bathtub unattended, he became distracted with his mobile phone and didn’t check on the child, which ultimately led to the drowning.  

The investigation was conducted by Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri prosecuted the case.   

Johnson was remanded to custody to serve his sentence.