CLARK MURDER SUSPECT IN CUSTODY
CLARK, S.D. – A 34 year old man from Clark man has been charged with First-Degree Murder and Second-Degree Murder in the death of a Clark resident Tuesday.
Bowen Fladland was arrested Tuesday after a deceased female was found at a Clark residence. He’s being held in Codington County Jail in Watertown.
“The suspect and the victim knew each other, and there is no threat to the public,” said Attorney General Jackley. “We ask the public to stay away from the crime scene so a thorough investigation can be done.”
South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation with the assistance of the Clark Police Department. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office and the Clark County State’s Attorney’s Office.
BRANDON WOMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ATTEMPTING TO PASS ILLEGAL DRUGS TO PRISON INMATE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A woman from Brandon has been sentenced to five years in prison, with 3½ years suspended, after earlier pleading guilty to one felony count of Attempt to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
46 year old Melissa Rae Cockerham was sentenced Monday in Minnehaha County Circuit Court. She had earlier pleaded to attempting to pass an illegal drug to an inmate at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
“Attempts to smuggle illegal drugs into our prisons is a serious crime that endangers staff, inmates, and the public,” said Attorney General Jackley. “We are committed to protecting prison facilities and the people who work and reside there.”
The incident happened Nov. 11, 2023 when the defendant attempted to throw a package containing more than five grams of methamphetamine over the prison wall to an inmate. The package did not make it over the wall and was recovered by staff.
South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation and the South Dakota Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General investigated the incident. The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted.
ICE: MS-13 FUGITIVE ‘KINGPIN’ FROM EL SALVADOR ARRESTED IN OMAHA
OMAHA, NE (WOWT) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested a man Wednesday in Omaha they said is a “high-ranking member of the violent MS-13 gang” and among El Salvador’s most wanted.
ICE says the man, a Salvadorian national, is an “MS-13 kingpin.” Federal officials told First Alert 6 that his identity was being withheld as he remains part of an ongoing investigation.
“It appears that he was here for several years, and he has been wanted by El Salvador for over a decade,” said U.S. Assistant Special Agent of Homeland Investigations Elhrick Cerdan.
Authorities said in a Wednesday news release that he is wanted in El Salvador for the aggravated homicide of five people and is also facing charges of attempted aggravated homicide, deprivation of liberty, and terrorist organization affiliation.
ICE also arrested a man who was with him, 30-year-old Rene Saul Escobar Ochoa. That man, whom ICE referred to as “a criminal alien, known MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist, is accused of ordering his fellow gang members to commit several crimes, including multiple homicides, extortion, imprisonment, and drug trafficking.
“Generally speaking, gang members will hide with other friends, other friends that have legal status and use that as a pathway to hide,” Agent Cerdan said. “Typically when MS-13 involves themselves in a community they start committing crimes like drug trafficking, human trafficking, intellection property rights, and just general racketeering and violent crimes so it is a big negative on the community.”
Both men were in the country illegally, and were arrested Wednesday in North Omaha without incident, according to ICE.
Agent Cerdan said the operation was part of a multi-agency effort.
“The men and women of Homeland Security Investigations do not conduct immigration raids; we execute federal search warrants that are signed by federal judges and approved by the department of justice,” he said. “A raid is a military term, that is not something we do, we conduct targeted investigations into transnational criminal organizations.”
ICE officials were also warning the public not to get involved during arrests.
“When ICE agents move in to make an arrest, it is extremely important that the public not interfere,” ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons said in the release. “The misinformation, and sometimes blatant lies, being spread around the country could result in someone stepping into a federal operation and suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with a killer who has nothing to lose.”
Agent Cerdan says his team is now getting up to speed on their Omaha activities and who else is here in town.
“There is a presence of MS-13 personnel here hiding in Omaha because of the size of the metropolitan area and the ability to just hide in plain sight like these two associates were,” he said.
An investigation is underway.
Sen. Pete Ricketts posted a response on social media Wednesday evening, congratulating ICE on the arrest.
“Incredible work by ICE arresting an MS-13 gang member in Omaha today. Biden’s Border Crisis continues to leave Americans vulnerable to crime and criminals. That is a fact. Our ICE and CBP heroes should be heralded for their work to make America safer,” he said in the post.
Sen. Deb Fischer also posted a statement.
“Today, violent MS-13 gang members — who are illegally in our country — have been removed from the streets of Omaha. Thank you to our law enforcement agencies who work around the clock to keep our Nebraska communities safe,” she said in the post.
FOLLOWING NEW PRISON DECISIONS CORRECTIONS LEADER SAYS PENITENTIARY SHOULD ‘NEVER HAVE ANOTHER INMATE IN IT’
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (John Hult / SD Searchlight) – South Dakota Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko said Wednesday she’s buoyed by a vote from the state’s prison task force endorsing a $650 million, 1,500-bed men’s prison in Sioux Falls.
Whatever happens with a new prison, she said, the 144-year-old penitentiary it’s meant to replace should “never have another inmate in it.”
Speaking after a penitentiary tour for members of the media, Wasko said she’s hopeful the state can meet its correctional needs for the recommended dollar amount.
The $650 million price point is about $75 million less than the state’s prison construction manager and prison design consultant said would be necessary to build 1,500 beds.
Wasko said she’s “optimistic” that the job can be done for less, but acknowledged “we are going to have to make some design changes.”
“We need this facility, and we want this facility, so we’re going to work to get to that $650 million budget,” Wasko said, while adding “we can’t slack” on safety features.
The Project Prison Reset task force made its recommendation Tuesday. Gov. Larry Rhoden created the group in February, after lawmakers failed to endorse a 1,500-bed, $825 million prison in Lincoln County. The task force’s missions were to decide if South Dakota needs a prison or prisons, then to decide how large and where to build.
The group will present its suggestions to the Legislature during a special session. Rhoden opted to push back the initial July date of that session, but has yet to pick a new date.
The state already has $566 million set aside in an incarceration construction fund, including about $50 million earmarked for a women’s prison in Rapid City, which is currently under construction.
Should lawmakers approve a prison on one of two undeveloped industrial sites in northeastern Sioux Falls, Wasko said the state penitentiary could make a great museum, or perhaps a training center for law enforcement tactical teams. She called herself “an architecture geek of prisons” who wouldn’t want to see the building demolished. Parts of the complex are made of Sioux quartzite, similar to other historic buildings in downtown Sioux Falls.
“I just like seeing these big, beautiful prisons that were built back then,” she said. “I just don’t like seeing people housed in them.”
ASSESSMENT SHOWS POTENTIAL FOR GOLD MINE NEAR LEAD, COMPANY SAYS
LEAD, S.D. (Joshua Haiar / South Dakota Searchlight) – A mining company released an initial assessment this week that outlines the potential for an open-pit gold mine northwest of Lead in South Dakota’s northern Black Hills.
According to Dakota Gold’s new report, its Richmond Hill project could produce between 2.6 million and 3.9 million ounces of gold over 17 to 28 years, based on an analysis of historic data from the previously mined area and 146 exploratory holes drilled in the past three years.
The nearby Wharf Mine, operated by a different company, has produced about 3 million ounces of gold since 1982. The Homestake Mine, also nearby, produced more than 40 million ounces before it closed more than two decades ago.
Not accounting for taxes and production costs, Dakota Gold estimates the Richmond Hill mine could generate $6.1 billion to $8.7 billion worth of gold at current prices. Developing the mine would would require an estimated initial investment of $384 million.
The company expects to advance into production as soon as 2029, “firmly placing Dakota Gold as having one of the largest development gold assets in the U.S.,” said CEO Robert Quartermain in a news release.
The company will need a large-scale mine permit from the state of South Dakota, and has already taken steps toward producing a socioeconomic study, an initial part of the permitting process. The Richmond Hill deposit sits mostly on previously mined, privately owned land, which Dakota Gold believes could streamline permitting.
The company estimates the mine could generate $400 million to $600 million in state severance taxes over its 17- to 28-year lifespan, and hundreds of jobs.
The project would be half a mile north of the Wharf Mine, which is the only operational, large-scale gold mine in the state, operated by Chicago-based Coeur Mining. The Wharf Mine is visible from the Terry Peak Ski Area.
Dakota Gold has offices in Lead and Canada. Richmond Hill is one of the company’s multiple exploratory projects in the Homestake mine region.
