Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A man from Porcupine, South Dakota, has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon on the Pine Ridge Reservation. United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on August 18, 2025.
Elijah Keith Battese, age 25, received a sentence of one year and one day in federal prison. After his release, he will be subject to three years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Battese was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2025 on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. He entered a guilty plea on May 2, 2025.
According to court records, Battese struck a juvenile male with a vacuum handle on September 27, 2024. The incident resulted in the victim sustaining a laceration near his right ear that required eleven sutures from emergency medical services. The offense occurred within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted this case under the Major Crimes Act, which requires certain violent crimes committed in Indian Country to be prosecuted at the federal level rather than by state authorities.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder handled prosecution duties for the case.
Battese was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
