Two of 11 South Dakota State Penitentiary inmates tied to March incident in prison for homicide
Of the 11 inmates charged in connection with the March "disturbances" at the South Dakota State Penetentiary, most of them have been convicted of crimes that range from damaging property, to possession of a controlled substance, to trying to escape as a prisoner and assault, prior to their most recent charges.
And two have been convicted for taking the life of a person. Only one connected with the March incident is facing a charge for a violent act.
That's according to documents on file within the South Dakota Unified Judicial System and details provided by the South Dakota Attorney General's Office.
“The Attorney General’s Office takes this matter seriously with 11 inmates being charged with 18 felonies,” stated Attorney General Jackley in a press release from his office. “This matter resulted in injuries to two correctional officers and significant damage to prison property.”
State officials also took about a month to provide any tangible detailed descriptions of what occurred between the March 27 and March 28 "disturbances."
Jackley attributed the response time to several factors. One, Jackley said, the Division of Criminal Investigations needed to sort out the events that occurred and interview correctional officers and inmates. He also said time was dedicated to filing the criminal complaint and arrest warrants tied to the assaults on the correctional officers.
"We wanted to make sure it's as thorough an investigation as could be, and that we gave the inmates an opportunity to be interviewed," Jackley said. "Some accepted and some didn't, and that's in part why it took this period of time."
The criminal backgrounds of those 11, however, often involve cases the Argus Leader would not currently cover from arrest to conviction and sentencing in daily news coverage, so here's a look at what we know about how each of the 11 arrived at the state penitentiary, according to public records and Argus Leader archives.
The 11 were formally indicted Wednesday, and initial appearances could unfold as soon as Thursday or Friday, according to the Attorney General's office, but no official dates have been set. The inmates are expected to appear from the state pen before a judge via TV, instead of being transported to the Minnehaha County Courthouse for those hearings.
All are innocent until proven guilty under the U.S. Constitution.
More: 11 South Dakota inmates indicted for charges tied to March state penitentiary 'disturbances'
Joshua David Vorthems, 45
Charges tied to the March incident: Two counts of aggravated assault against a Department of Corrections employee and two counts of simple assault againast a DOC employee.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: Vortherms was convicted by a Minnehaha County jury of two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of vehicular battery and driving under the influence for an early morning July 1, 2017, crash near the Brandon exit on Interstate 90 that killed two — Anna Lee Mason and Shannon Lewis Fischer — and injured an 11-year-old girl.
He was sentenced by Judge Robin Houwman to 15 years in prison on one count of vehicular homicide; 15 years with five suspended on the second count of vehicular homicide; 10 years with 10 suspended for the vehicular battery charge; and 364 days in jail suspended for one count of driving under the influence.
The first three charges are to run consecutively, meaning 25 years in prison with another 15 suspended on the condition he follows parole requirements. The sentence for driving under the influence is to run concurrently. He tried to appeal the conviction in 2020 to the South Dakota Supreme Court, but lost.
More: SD Supreme Court: warrantless blood draw didn't violate rights of homicide defendant
Lee David Bernard, 32
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of intentional damage to property.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: He pleaded guilty in March 2022 for domestic abuse simple assault (his fifth subsequent offense for domestic violence). He was sentenced to six years in the state pen, with two years suspended and six days of credit for time served. He also had two other charges between 2017 and 2021, one of which was simple assault on law enforcement and one of which was domestic abuse. Both charges would have sentenced him to the state pen, but he received suspended time and work release as well as probation.
Taylor Dallas Cook, 22
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of intentional damage to property.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: Most of his charges are out of Hughs County. He pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated assault in June 2021, and was sentenced to seven years and six months, with four years suspended and credit for 197 days time served. He also pleaded guilty in April 2023 to possession of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to three years and given 96 days for time served.
Markos James Fernandez, 19
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of intentional damage to property.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: Outside of the most recent charges, he also has a pending possession of a controlled substance charge as well as use or possession of drug paraphenalia charge unrelated to the March disturbances.
He pleaded guilty to escape in December 2023, and was sentenced to one yea, with the time suspended. Expected to run concurrently with with the escape charge was a charge for being a habitual offender - possession of a stolen vehicle (of which he pleaded guilty to in December 2023, and was sentenced to one year in the pen) and habitual offender - burglary third degree (of which he was also sentenced that same month for to one year in the pen).
He also pleaded guilty in August 2023 for a habitual offender of possession of a controlled substance charge, received two years at the state pen with two years suspended, along with 180 days in jail, with 137 suspended and credit for 43 days. Then, probation for two years.
And he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in March 2023 and was sentenced to the pen for four years, with four suspended. He also was given 180 days in jail with 180 days suspended, and four years probation.
John Wesley Lovejoy, 25
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of intentional damage to property.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: Most of his previous cases are tied to charges out of Minnehaha County, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to escape as a prisoner in May 2021, and was sentenced to five years at the state penitentiary with four suspended. That was a sentence to run consecutive to a charge of simple assault (his third subsquent offense), of which he pleaded guilty to in December 2020. He was sentenced to two years, with two years suspended, along with 180 days in jail and had 96 days suspended and credit for 84 days for this charge. He was also put on probation for two years. He violated probation in June 2021 and was sentenced to two years with 205 days credited.
That escape charge was also consecutive to a simple assault case against law enforcement case or another public officia, of he pleaded guilty to in June 2021 as well. He was sentenced to five years, with three suspended.
Connor David Shockey, 20
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of intentional damage to property.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: Shockey pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in November 2023, and was sentenced to 10 years, with four suspended and 159 days credit for time served. This sentence is to serve consecutively to his charge of intentional damage to property. He pleaded guilty on that charge the same month, and was sentenced to two years, with two years suspended. All of these charges are out of Minnehaha County.
He also has a pending simple assault case from February as well.
Chaske Michael White, 50
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of intentional damage to property.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: White was in his 20s at the time he was sentenced to life in prison, serving 999 years, for his role as one of three people connected to the murder of Morning Star Shalimar Standing Bear, from Meade County, in 1999.
He was convicted of kidnapping and first degree murder. Prosecutors at the time said White, and another person, stripped Standing Bear down, beat her with a tire-iron jack and stabbed her with a broken bottle.
More: Jackley reveals new details in state pen assault, 'disturbances'; 11 inmates face criminal charges
James Ewing, 41
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of reckless burning and one county of burning within a structure were a person is lawfully confined
How he arrived at the penitentiary: He pleaded guilty to simple assault in January 2023 and was sentenced to six years, with three years suspended. He also received 207 days of credit for time served. That same month, in the same case, he also pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, for which he was sentenced to three years, with three years suspended.
He also has two pending 2020 cases out of Beadle, one of which includes possession of a controlled substance, use or possession of drug paraphernalia and refusing to leave property. The other includes threatening law enforcement and simple assault on law enforcement.
Curtis Carpenter, 39
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of reckless burning and one county of burning within a structure were a person is lawfully confined.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: He pleaded guilty to second degree burglary in March 2023, and was sentenced to 15 years with eight suspended, with credit for "all days served."
He also pleaded guilty in 2021 to possession of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary with three suspended, then probation for three years. He was found to have violated probation later that year, was sentenced probation for two years, three years in the state penitentiary with three years suspended and 180 days in jail, with credit for 12 days served. Most of his charges are out of Brule County.
Michael Hewitt, 41
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of reckless burning and one county of burning within a structure were a person is lawfully confined.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: He pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in August 2018. He was sentenced to four years at the state pen, with four years suspended. He also received 180 days in jail with 30 days suspended and probation for 36 months.
In October 2018, he violated probation and was sentenced in April 2019 to four years in the penitentiary, with two years suspended. He was given 159 days credit for time served.
Then, in May 2020, he pleaded guilty to being a habitual offender for possession of a controlled substance.
He was sentenced to one year in the state pen, with 15 days of credit for time served. This ran alongside a conviction that same month for being a habitual offender receiving a stolen vehicle, for which he was sentenced to three years at the pen. Those three years were suspended.
In December 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to three years. A year and a half of that was suspended.
In May 2022, he pleaded guilty to having possession of a controlled substance in jail. He was sentenced to five years, with five years suspended and 52 days of credit for time served.
Mahlon Kirkie, 35
Charges tied to the March incident: One count of reckless burning and one county of burning within a structure were a person is lawfully confined.
How he arrived at the penitentiary: Most of Kirkie's charges are either out of Davison or Charles Mix counties. He Pleaded guilty to grand theft of more than $1,000 and less than or equal to $2,500 in June 2020. He was sentenced then to three years, with two years suspended and then probation for four years, court records show.
To serve consecutively to another grand theft charge of $2,500 or more, but less than $5,000, he was also sentenced to five years in the pen, suspended, and 180 days in jail, with 167 days credit for time served. He pleaded guilty the same month, and then is expected to be on probation afterward.
He also pleaded guilty to a second degree burglary charge in September 2021, and was sentenced to 15 years with seven years suspended and 140 days credited. And he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in that same month, and was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary to run concurrent with his burglary - second degree charge.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: What to know about 11 inmates charged in penitentiary 'disturbances'
