FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a Watertown woman has been sentenced after earlier pleading guilty to one count of Grand Theft.

Danielle L. Johnson, 36, was sentenced Wednesday in Codington County Circuit Court to a five-year suspended prison sentence, 60 days in the county jail, three years probation, and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution.

Johnson was indicted in 2022 of deceiving an elderly person and taking their money. The crime took place between November 2021 and February 2022.

“This crime was committed against a vulnerable member of the community,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Thank you to the Legislature and Governor for supporting the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse team and to law enforcement and prosecutors for bringing resolution to this case.”

Agencies involved in the investigation were the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Unit and the Watertown Police Department. The Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Unit also prosecuted the case.

In 2022, the Elder Abuse Unit had 897 referrals and so far in 2023, there have been 541 referrals. The unit currently is investigating 41 cases.

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