A man from Porcupine, South Dakota, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for involuntary manslaughter and making false statements. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down the sentence on April 25, 2025.
Clayton Fire Thunder, aged 40, will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay $300 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. His conviction followed a federal jury trial in Rapid City, South Dakota, earlier this year.
The case stems from an incident on September 15, 2022. In the early hours of that day, a man drove his partially clothed girlfriend to the Indian Health Services hospital on the Pine Ridge Reservation after she was shot. The man did not provide identities to medical staff but claimed that a firearm accidentally discharged during intimate relations.
Law enforcement later identified and located the man at his residence where he was cleaning up the crime scene and had sent messages claiming the shooting was accidental. Despite searching his residence, authorities could not find the handgun involved. The man faced charges including second-degree murder and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Investigations revealed that Clayton Fire Thunder and Marino Waters visited the man's residence twice on September 15 with intentions of selling a firearm in exchange for cash or methamphetamine. Fire Thunder discharged a round into the residence when no one answered the door, resulting in the death of a 27-year-old woman inside.
Fire Thunder initially denied possessing a firearm during interviews with the FBI but was found guilty based on evidence presented by seventeen witnesses and over 200 exhibits during his trial.
The case was prosecuted under federal jurisdiction due to its occurrence in Indian country as mandated by the Major Crimes Act. The investigation involved collaboration between the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen leading prosecution efforts.
Following sentencing, Fire Thunder was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals Service.