FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Thursday, November 1, 2018

CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605) 773-3215

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that a Minnehaha County Grand Jury has indicted Willard Allan Dathe, 68, Sioux Falls, one count of delivery of unauthorized article, tobacco, to prisoner, class 6 felony, punishable by up to 2 year in the state penitentiary and/or $4,000 fine, one count of attempted possession of unauthorized article with intent to deliver to prisoner, class 6 felony, punishable by up to 1 year in the state penitentiary and/or $2,000 fine and one count of attempted grand theft by deception in the alternative, class 5 felony, punishable by up to 2.5 years in the state penitentiary and/or $5,000 fine.

Charged stem from an incident on October 18, 2018, when Dathe made arrangements to provide a gun to an inmate.  Dathe was employed as a counselor at the Penitentiary.

Dathe is presumed innocent until such time as proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by Special Investigations Unit at the South Dakota State Penitentiary and the Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

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