Pine Ridge Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Accessory after the Fact. The sentencing took place on August 1, 2024.

Charles Brings Plenty, age 32, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,938.48 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Brings Plenty was indicted for the charges of Second-Degree Murder and False Statement by a federal grand jury in August of 2023. He pleaded guilty to Accessory after the Fact on April 3, 2024.

Brings Plenty and his juvenile codefendant picked up the victim from the East Ridge housing area in Pine Ridge on the evening of April 21, 2023. Brings Plenty and the juvenile defendant went to a fairly isolated area near the Old Sundance Grounds in Pine Ridge. Brings Plenty and the juvenile codefendant were intoxicated. On the way to the Old Sundance Grounds, the death of a relative that Brings Plenty and the juvenile codefendant shared was brought up. Brings Plenty got out of the car and began to question the victim. The juvenile codefendant used the vehicle to assault the victim and then assaulted him with a black baseball bat. Brings Plenty assisted the juvenile codefendant and then left the victim. The victim was reported missing by his family approximately two-weeks later. In July of 2023, the skeletal remains of a human were found north of the Old Sundance Grounds. DNA testing revealed that the remains were that of the victim.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.

Brings Plenty was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.