PIERRE, S.D.-    Attorney General Marty Jackley and Gregory County States Attorney Amy Bartling announced that Nicholas C. Speckmeier, 30, Sioux Falls, pled guilty yesterday to 2 counts of aggravated assault and 1 count of ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine and was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Trandahl to 30 years in the state penitentiary.

Speckmeier (driver) along with girlfriend Samantha Jo Lane (passenger), in the early morning hours of August 22, 2015, led Gregory County Sheriff’s deputies on a 50 minute high speed chase all around the towns of Bonesteel and Fairfax,  which included Speckmeier firing shots from a pistol out the driver’s window. During the pursuit, Speckmeier wrecked their original vehicle and stole a pickup off main street Fairfax in an attempt to continue their escape. Speckmeier and Lane admitted to law enforcement that before driving to Gregory County from Sioux Falls, they had both intravenously ingested themselves with methamphetamine.

Previously, Lane had pled guilty to committing a felony with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, and ingestion of a controlled substance, methamphetamine and was sentenced to 25 years in the state women’s penitentiary.

This case was investigated by the Gregory County Sheriff’s Office and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

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