Mitchell man who 'steals cars, guns and sells them' sentenced to serve 16 years in prison for four felonies

MITCHELL — A Mitchell man who stole a pair of vehicles and multiple firearms, while possessing child pornography, was sentenced Tuesday, Mar. 28, to serve 16 years in prison for a handful of felony charges.

Heading into the sentencing hearing, Xzaviyon Drapeau, 18, of Mitchell, pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft in the amount between $5,000 and $100,000, each Class 4 felonies that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, possession, manufacturing and or distribution of child pornography, also a Class 4 felony, and grand theft in the amount between $1,000 and $2,500, a Class 6 felony that carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.

“He steals cars. He breaks into cars and steals guns. He then goes and sells them,” Davison County Deputy State’s Attorney Robert O’Keefe said of Drapeau during the sentencing hearing.

Court records say the investigation into Drapeau began after multiple vehicles were stolen in Mitchell. Drapeau stole a Ford Fusion and GMC Sierra truck in Mitchell and was later found in Fort Thompson, according to O’Keefe.

An arrest affidavit says Drapeau gave authorities permission to access his cell phone while being questioned about a recent series of vehicle burglaries and stolen firearms.

While searching Drapeau’s cell phone, investigators discovered a pair of videos Drapeau recorded of himself “holding a lever action rifle” and a Glock handgun that resembled stolen firearms that were recently reported to the Mitchell Police Department, according to an arrest affidavit.

O’Keefe said authorities also discovered pictures on Drapeau’s cell phone showing a female who was 14 at the time, which resulted in the child pornography charge.

While being questioned by authorities, Drapeau admitted that he stole the handgun from a truck in Mitchell. Drapeau helped officers locate the stolen rifle he left outside, but the handgun was not found where he indicated he left it.

Drapeau expressed his apologies and took guilt from the series of crimes during his sentencing hearing and asked for a chance at probation.

Judge Giles opted to impose prison time for each of the four felony charges Drapeau was convicted of and dubbed his actions as “repeatedly doing the same dumb things.” Prior to handing down the sentencing, Giles highlighted Drapeau was “given a chance” to rehabilitate himself from his lengthy juvenile criminal history.

“You were repeatedly doing the same dumb things. I’m not optimistic of you to make changes and put this behind you,” Giles said.

For each of the two vehicle grand theft charges, Drapeau was sentenced to 10 years in prison with four years suspended. He was sentenced to serve two years in prison for the Class 6 felony grand theft charge. The possession of child pornography charge resulted in a 10-year prison sentence with eight years suspended.

Criminal entry into a vehicle was the lone misdemeanor charge Drapeau pleaded guilty, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor. He received credit for serving 239 days in jail for the misdemeanor offense.

Drapeau’s prison sentencing for all four of the felony charges will run consecutively.

As part of Drapeau’s sentencing conditions, he was ordered to pay a little over $7,600 in restitution fees that are owed to the victims of Drapeau’s crimes.