Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Peever, South Dakota man has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for assaulting his spouse. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann handed down the sentence to Terry Wayne Sterling Heminger, 27, on June 16, 2025.
Heminger was sentenced to five years and ten months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction is related to an incident that occurred on December 23, 2022, when Heminger assaulted his spouse with a hammer. The attack resulted in serious injuries, including complete vision loss in one eye and partial vision loss in the other. The victim required several metal plates due to her injuries.
Heminger was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024 and pleaded guilty on September 30, 2024.
"This matter is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court," said United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Law Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb.
Following sentencing, Heminger was immediately remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
