Pine Ridge man sentenced to ten years for killing man in Wounded Knee

WOUNDED KNEE, S.D. - A 29-year-old Pine Ridge man has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for killing a man in Wounded Knee. Eugene Hunts Horse was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter.

The deadly incident happened on Feb. 24, 2024. Authorities say the victim showed up at a trailer in Wounded Knee, trying to get inside a home where he knew the people living there. A man inside the house assaulted him and forced him down the driveway.

That’s when Hunts Horse arrived. Prosecutors say he believed the victim had attacked his cousin earlier that night with a hammer. In a fit of rage, Hunts Horse struck the man several times in the head and body with an object.

It wasn’t until after the attack that Hunts Horse learned the victim wasn’t actually the person who had assaulted his cousin.

Officers with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety found the victim near the driveway with a major skull fracture and heavy bleeding. He died shortly after first responders arrived.

Hunts Horse was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024 and pleaded guilty in Jan. 2025.