Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City man, Marino Waters, has been sentenced for making a false statement. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on April 25, 2025.
Waters, aged 32, received a sentence of time already served and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Waters had been indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024 and pleaded guilty on January 17, 2025.
The case dates back to September 15, 2022, when an unidentified male drove his partially clothed girlfriend to the Indian Health Services hospital on the Pine Ridge Reservation after she was accidentally shot during intimate relations. The male did not provide any identities at the time but claimed that a firearm had discharged accidentally.
Law enforcement later identified and located the male at his residence while he was cleaning up the crime scene and sending text messages claiming the shooting was accidental. A search of his residence did not uncover the handgun used in the incident. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Investigations revealed that Marino Waters drove Clayton Fire Thunder to this male's residence twice on September 15, intending to sell him a firearm for cash or methamphetamine. Fire Thunder unexpectedly discharged one round into the residence when no one answered the door, which resulted in the death of the male’s girlfriend.
In March 2023, Waters falsely told FBI investigators that neither he nor Fire Thunder possessed a firearm during this incident despite knowing otherwise. Fire Thunder faced trial for her death in January 2025 and was found guilty by jury verdict.
The prosecution of this matter fell under federal jurisdiction due to its occurrence in Indian country as mandated by the Major Crimes Act. The case involved efforts from both Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and FBI investigators with Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen leading prosecution efforts.
