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Press Release

Rapid City Man Charged with Second Degree Murder

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Second Degree Murder and Discharging, Brandishing, or Possessing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

Phillip Pond, age 39, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on March 3, 2021, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.

The maximum penalty upon conviction for each charge is up to life in prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, 5 years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Restitution may also be ordered.

The charges relate to Pond shooting and killing a man on November 22, 2020, at Pine Ridge.

The charges are merely accusations and Pond is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama is prosecuting the case.

Pond was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial.  A trial date has been set for April 27, 2021.

Updated March 10, 2021

Topics
Indian Country Law and Justice
Violent Crime