United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Kyle, South Dakota, man convicted of Discharging a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Charles Kieffe, age 34, was sentenced on March 22, 2019, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,854.54 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Kieffe was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2018. The charge related to Kieffe pursuing a vehicle on March 23, 2018, near Kyle. After getting a short distance in front of the victims’ vehicle, Kieffe stopped his vehicle causing the victims to slam on their vehicle’s brakes. Kieffe exited his vehicle and discharged a.270 caliber rifle at the victims’ vehicle, striking the windshield and the passenger’s side window. The victims quickly spun their vehicle around and sped away from Kieffe. Kieffe confessed to law enforcement that he intentionally discharged the firearm at the victims’ vehicle, thinking someone who had sold him $1,500 worth of bad drugs was inside the vehicle. One of the victims sustained a shrapnel injury to her leg and property damage to her vehicle.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Kieffe was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
