FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    Monday, January 14, 2019

CONTACT:  Tim Bormann (605) 773-3215

YANKTON, S.D. –  Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg announced today that Curt Wayne Adams Sr. was sentenced to 18 years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary at the Yankton County Courthouse in Yankton, South Dakota. 

On November 1, 2018, Adams entered a no contest plea to Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer stemming from an incident that occurred on December 3, 2016.  In the process of an attempted traffic stop for an illegal U-turn, Adams lead South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Kayne Weaver on a 20-mile pursuit.  Adams displayed a weapon at times during the chase and, after getting the vehicle stopped, launched a volley of shots at the patrolman who returned fire.

Adams was injured in the exchange of gunfire and later indicted by a Yankton County Grand Jury.  Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer is a Class 2 Felony that carries a penalty of up to twenty-five years imprisonment in the South Dakota State Penitentiary.  In addition, a fine of fifty thousand dollars may be imposed.

Adams received a sentence of 18 years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary, with three of those years suspended on the condition that he abide by the rules and regulations of the South Dakota Board of Pardons & Parole, the Department of Corrections, and all laws.  Adams also will pay $104 in court costs, the sum of $449 to the South Dakota Drug Control Fund and will re-pay prosecution costs to Yankton County.  Adams received 748 days of credit for time served.

Adams remains in the custody of the Yankton County Sheriff pending his transportation to the state penitentiary.

“This type of behavior cannot be tolerated.” Said Ravnsborg, “This case is a reminder of the dangerous job the men and women of law enforcement do each day to keep us all safe.”

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Yankton County Sheriff’s Office, Yankton Police Department and was prosecuted by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.

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