FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Oct 25, 2024

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

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a Wagner youth has pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class C felony, in the connection with the stabbing death of a 16-year-old male in 2023.

Gabe Montgomery, 16, entered his guilty plea Friday morning in Charles Mix County Circuit Court. He will be sentenced Jan. 31, 2025. 

Montgomery’s case was transferred to adult court this past spring. The maximum sentence for a Class C felony is up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine. For a juvenile sentenced, the maximum sentence could be a term of years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

The incident happened April 10, 2023, during a fight that occurred in Wagner.

Agencies that investigated the case were the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Wagner Police Department. The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office and the Charles Mix County State’s Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case.

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