FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that two defendants have been sentenced to prison after earlier pleading guilty to a high-speed chase that included shots being fired at law enforcement.
James Lanpher, Jr., 40, of Sioux Falls, and Bonner Juel, 45, of Harrisburg, were sentenced Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court in Madison.
Lanpher, Jr. earlier had pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and admission to being a habitual offender. He was sentenced to life in prison on each count with the sentences to be served concurrently.
Juel earlier had pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and one count of ingestion of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with five years suspended, on the aggravated assault charge and was sentenced to five years in prison, all suspended, on the ingestion charge. Those sentences will be served consecutively.
The incident occurred on July 14, 2022 when the South Dakota Highway Patrol attempted to make a traffic stop in Minnehaha County on a vehicle driven by Lanpher, Jr. Juel was the passenger.
The vehicle did not stop, and the pursuit began traveling through Colman and then Madison. During the pursuit, Lanpher, Jr. fired a rifle at law enforcement. The pursuit ended at Madison. Lanpher, Jr. was later arrested after a foot pursuit.
“This was a dangerous incident for the law enforcement officers responding, and thankfully, no one was injured,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This is another example of the dangerous situations that law enforcement officers face while protecting the rest of us.”
The South Dakota Highway Patrol, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Madison Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Moody County Sheriff’s Office were part of the pursuit and investigation.
Both defendants were prosecuted by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Moody County State’s Attorney’s Office.
-30-
