Lower Brule man pleads guilty to assaulting BIA officer

LOWER BRULE -- A Lower Brule man pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer.

Elmer LaRoche, 26, faces a maximum of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine, plus three years of supervised release with two more years of supervision possible upon revocation.

The charge stems from an incident Nov. 1 when LaRoche assaulted a BIA officer.

An intoxicated LaRoche was at a home in Lower Brule, and refused to leave the house where a tribal court order prohibited intoxicated people from entering. During his arrest, LaRoche resisted and struggled with the officer causing physical contact, and struck the officer in the head.

LaRoche was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to await sentencing. A sentencing date has been set for May.

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