A Mobridge man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. The sentencing of Kendall Lee White Tail, 34, was handed down by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann on August 18, 2025.
White Tail will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024 and pleaded guilty on May 19, 2025.
According to court documents, on June 25, 2023, White Tail confronted a couple walking in McLaughlin, South Dakota, within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. He threatened them by placing a pistol to the woman’s head and racking it while saying “I’ll get you.” Later that night, he approached the man as he spoke with a friend outside. Armed with both a pistol and a knife, White Tail slashed the man’s face and leg with the knife before striking him with the pistol. The victim lost sight in his left eye permanently and suffered fractured orbital and nasal bones as a result of the attack.
The prosecution of this case falls under federal jurisdiction due to the Major Crimes Act, which requires certain violent crimes occurring in Indian country to be prosecuted federally rather than at the state level.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.
White Tail was immediately remanded into custody following sentencing.
