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
A Bullhead, South Dakota man has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury. U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann handed down the sentence to Martin Joseph Taken Alive, 32, on August 18, 2025.
Taken Alive will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
According to court documents, Taken Alive was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025 and pleaded guilty on June 2, 2025. The incident occurred on January 4, 2024, when Taken Alive and another adult male were at a home in Bullhead within the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Both men were intoxicated when an argument broke out. Taken Alive used a knife to slash the victim across the chest before fleeing the scene. The victim’s wound was about six inches long and required hospitalization. Later that evening, Taken Alive turned himself in to law enforcement.
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell stated: “This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.”
The Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem served as prosecutor.
Taken Alive was immediately remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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