FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 20, 2024

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

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that the First-Degree Murder trial of Joseph Gene Hoek of Sioux Falls will start April 21, 2025. Hoek is charged with First Degree Murder and Aggravated Eluding in the Feb. 2, 2024 death of Moody County Chief Deputy Sheriff Ken Prorok.

The trial date was set during a status hearing held Thursday at the Moody County Courthouse in Flandreau. The trial is scheduled for five weeks.

Attorney General Jackley earlier this year provided written notice to the court on the state’s intention to seek the death penalty if a jury finds the defendant guilty of First-Degree Murder.

The defendant has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

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