Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced charges against 18-year-old Raymond Eagle Hawk, Jr., from Wounded Knee, South Dakota. He faces a charge of assault with intent to commit murder following an incident at the Wounded Knee Memorial site.
On June 12, 2025, Eagle Hawk was reportedly intoxicated and panhandling in the parking lot of the Wounded Knee cemetery. A 71-year-old man visiting the Pine Ridge Reservation from Texas with his wife encountered Eagle Hawk. After giving him a small amount of cash, Eagle Hawk demanded more money. When denied additional funds, he allegedly stabbed the man in the throat.
The victim suffered a serious neck injury and tried to return to his vehicle as Eagle Hawk continued advancing but eventually fled. The injured man was taken to Pine Ridge hospital and later transferred by air ambulance to Monument Health Hospital in Rapid City for emergency surgery.
Eagle Hawk appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on June 18, 2025, where he pleaded not guilty to the criminal complaint. He remains in custody under the U.S. Marshals Service pending further hearings set for June 27, 2025.
The maximum penalty if convicted is up to 20 years in federal prison. The charge remains an accusation; Eagle Hawk is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case falls under federal jurisdiction due to the Major Crimes Act which mandates prosecution of certain violent crimes occurring in Indian Country be handled federally rather than at the state level.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division are conducting investigations into this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Heather Knox is leading the prosecution.
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