Bullhead Woman Pleads Guilty to Witness Tampering

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Lucille Little Eagle, age 23, of Bullhead, South Dakota, appeared before United States District Judge Charles B. Kornmann on August 31, 2011, and pled guilty to count five of an indictment that charged her with tampering with a witness. The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The conviction was the result of an incident that occurred between April 24 and June 22, 2010, at Bullhead. At that time and place, Lucille Little Eagle did knowingly corruptly persuade or attempt to corruptly persuade several witnesses, who were present for the April 24 street fight in Bullhead between the Little Eagle family and their supporters and the White Eagle family and their supporters, to tell law enforcement officers false accounts of the events of the street fight. Lucille Little Eagle did this by writing a false scenario of the real events and showing it to the witnesses and advising them to give law enforcement officers this false scenario. Lucille Little Eagle did this with the intent to hinder, delay, and prevent those witnesses from communicating to a law enforcement officer information relating to the possible commission of federal crimes on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Standing Rock Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikal Hanson.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for December 5, 2011. The defendant was released on bond pending sentencing.