U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell | U.S. Department of Justice
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Robert A. Lange of the U.S. District Court has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of voluntary manslaughter. The sentencing took place on August 1, 2024.
Lucy Medicine Eagle, age 33, was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Medicine Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2022. She pleaded guilty on April 26, 2024.
On March 28, 2022, Medicine Eagle was at a residence in St. Francis on the Rosebud Reservation, drinking alcohol with family members when she had a verbal argument with her adult brother. She believed her brother had stolen and pawned her Xbox gaming console; however, it was actually misplaced behind a couch on the premises. Unaware of this fact, Medicine Eagle struck and punched her brother in the face and head numerous times. Despite his pleas for her to stop and his defensive posture, she continued until other household members intervened. By then, he had suffered severe head injuries and soon became unresponsive. He was transported to Monument Health in Rapid City where he remained on life support until he died on April 1, 2022. His cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma injuries to the head.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case under the Major Crimes Act—a federal statute mandating that certain violent crimes occurring in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court rather than State court.
The case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher prosecuted the case.
Medicine Eagle was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal to serve her sentence.
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