FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 31, 2024

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

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a Minnehaha County Grand Jury Monday indicted six people regarding five different cases involving South Dakota Prison inmates and two others who were Department of Corrections staff members at that time.

“Assaults on prison staff, possession of weapons and contraband, and destruction of property in our prison will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Jackley. “This conduct endangered prison staff and inmates and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Those are charged are:

Case One

          *** Prison Inmate Tyler Dane Larvie, 28, nine felony counts of Possession of an Article Indulgence (synthetic cannabinoids). The charges occurred on or about Jan. 24, 2024.

Case Two

          *** Inmate Tyler Dane Larvie, 28, one felony count of Criminal Solicitation, one felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Second Degree Arson, and one felony count of Aiding and Abetting Second Degree Arson.

         *** Former DOC Medication Aide Madyson Alexis Bixby, 21, Sioux Falls, one felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Second Degree Arson and one felony count of Possession of an Unauthorized Article (a cellphone delivered to an inmate).

*** Merced Patlan, 30, Sioux Falls, (not a DOC staff member) one felony count of Second Degree Arson and one felony count of Conspiracy to Commit Second Degree Arson.

             Larvie and Bixby are charged with conspiring with Patlan to destroy another person’s vehicle. The crimes occurred between Dec. 1, 2023 and Jan. 4, 2024. The actual arson occurred on Jan. 4, 2024 in Sioux Falls.

Case Three

          *** Former DOC nurse Alexis Rose Hiller, 27, Sioux Falls, charged with one felony count of Possession of a Controlled Substance (Buprenorphine) with Intent to Distribute, one felony count of Possession of a Controlled Substance (Buprenorphine), and one felony count of Possession of Unauthorized Article (Buprenorphine) With Intent to Deliver to An Inmate. The charges occurred on or near Jan. 31, 2024.

Case Four

          *** Prison Inmate Seth Thomas Peplinski, 24, Sioux Falls, charged with one felony count of Aggravated Assault, and one felony count of Simple Assault. He is accused of assaulting another person in the prison on May 6, 2024.

Case Five

          *** Prison Inmate Kelly Michael Irby, 64, Possession of a Weapon by an Inmate (blade). The charges occurred on or about May 8, 2024.

Initial court appearances for those charged have not yet been scheduled. All of the defendants are presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

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