Watauga Man Sentenced for Assault by Striking, Beating or Wounding

PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Watauga, South Dakota man convicted of Assault by Striking, Beating or Wounding. The sentencing took place on August 15, 2024.

Justin James Schneider, age 39, was sentenced to time served, equal to one year in custody, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $25.

Schneider was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023. A jury found him guilty of Assault by Striking, Beating or Wounding following trial on May 15, 2024.

On October 26, 2022, in McIntosh, South Dakota, within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, Schneider was taking out the trash when he saw another man. Schneider believed the other man had wronged him several months earlier. Schneider gestured for the man to join him in a neighbor's yard. When they met, Schneider accused the man of misconduct, then punched him several times in the face. Schneider walked the man to his wife's workplace, forced him to apologize for the alleged misdeed, and then punched him once more on the nose, breaking it.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office because the General Crimes Act, a federal statute, authorizes federal prosecution of certain crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country.

This case was investigated by the Corson County Sheriff's Office and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

Schneider remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on separate charges.