Okreek Man Sentenced for Voluntary Manslaughter
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge, Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced an Okreek, South Dakota, man convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter. The sentencing took place on January 23, 2023.
Leon Good Buffalo, age 24, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Good Buffalo was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2021. He pleaded guilty on October 13, 2022.
On October 28, 2021, Good Buffalo was consuming alcoholic beverages and socializing with the victim, an adult male, at a residence in Okreek, South Dakota. Good Buffalo and the victim began to argue, and Good Buffalo retrieved a shotgun from a bedroom. Good Buffalo and the victim then went outside of the residence, at which point Good Buffalo shot the victim in the chest. The victim died as a result of the gunshot wound.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Good Buffalo was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
