A man from Parmelee, South Dakota, has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison after being convicted of two counts of domestic assault as a habitual offender. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte on February 23, 2026.
Hehaka Thunder Hawk, 42, received a sentence of three years and eight months in federal prison. After his release, he will be subject to three years of supervised release and must pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Thunder Hawk was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025 and pleaded guilty on November 24, 2025.
The convictions are related to two separate assaults against an intimate partner that took place on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On November 12, 2021, Thunder Hawk entered a residence in Parmelee without permission and assaulted a woman by pulling her hair and punching her face before fleeing the scene. On February 10, 2025, he entered the same woman’s home through a broken window while she was sleeping and assaulted her again, causing fractures to her nose and orbital bone. At the time of both incidents, Thunder Hawk had three prior convictions for domestic abuse in Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court.
The case was investigated by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Zachrison.
Thunder Hawk was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
