Robert "Boo" Many Horses News articles
FBI Agents Denied Meeting In Case Of Many Horses Death
4 Oct 1999
SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- A committee seeking answers in the death of Robert ''Boo'' Many Horses of Mobridge says it won't meet with FBI officials looking into the case.
The Justice for Boo Committee says the FBI has wrongly limited the scope of its investigation.
''The feds are only investigating the four defendants,'' said committee member Mark White Bull. ''They aren't looking at how law enforcement has mishandled the case. As far as we're concerned, they have no credibility.''
Meanwhile, he said, the American Indian Movement is ready to mobilize to Mobridge.
''AIM is on alert,'' White Bull said. ''Everyone is waiting to see what happens with the FBI investigation.''
The body of Many Horses, 22, was found stuffed headfirst into a garbage can in Mobridge on June 30. An autopsy concluded he had died of alcohol poisoning, and a judge dismissed charges against four teen-agers accused of leaving him there.
The FBI said it would look into the case to see whether Many Horses' civil rights had been violated.
Agents are investigating the four teens, said David Heller, senior supervisory resident agent for the FBI.
''Agents are still gathering information so that we can give a complete package of information to Washington, D.C., to see if there have been any violations of federal law,'' Heller said.
White Bull also says FBI agents are investigating committee members and people who helped the committee look into the case.
''We will only talk to the feds if we have an attorney present,'' White Bull said. ''They have intimidated some of our members.''
Heller says no committee members are under federal investigation.
''Why, or for what purpose would we investigate them? I welcome the opportunity just to meet with them and open a dialogue. We want to know their problems so that we can work for solutions.''
Web posted Thursday, September 30, 1999
South Dakota Judge Talks About Decision To Drop Charges In Many Horses Case
ABERDEEN (AP) -- The judge who dismissed charges against four Mobridge area teen-agers in the death of Robert ''Boo'' Many Horses says he tried to keep emotion out of his decision.
''I just tried to be analytical, and apply the law to the facts of the case,'' Magistrate Judge Tony Portra told the Aberdeen American News.
''I hope that Native Americans don't view this as white justice -- but justice,'' said Portra, who is one-eighth American Indian. ''The law isn't like a basketball game where there are two equal sides and two rims of equal size and height. Things are not always even. You need to do the best you can with what you have.''
Portra ruled Tuesday that the state failed to prove its case against any of the four defendants.
Many Horses was found dead in a Mobridge alley on June 30. He had been stuffed in a garbage can.
Autopsy results showed that the cause of death was alcohol poisoning.
The case drew attention from American Indians who said the defendants, all white, received preferential treatment and that prosecutors weren't aggressive enough. Many Horses was an Indian.
Layne Gisi, 19, of Mobridge, was accused of putting Many Horses in the trash can. He was charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter, aggravated assault, and abuse or neglect of a disabled adult.
Ryan Goehring, 16, of Mobridge; Joy Lynn Hahne, 18, of Trail City, and Jody Larson, 19, of Mobridge, were charged with aiding and abetting and with being an accessory to a crime and not reporting it.
Portra said Walworth County State's Attorney Dan Todd acted too quickly when he charged the teens before getting the autopsy report.
''He rushed in too fast. (Then) he couldn't have dismissed (the charges) even if he had wanted to. He did the best with what he had.''
Todd has not commented on the ruling.
In his decision, Portra wrote that although he dismissed the charges, ''The court wishes to make it clear that it does not decide at this time that no offense has been committed by these defendants, only that the elements of the offenses charged have not been met.''
He characterized the actions of the defendants as ''stupid and extremely dangerous,'' adding ''they struck a severe blow to race relations in the area.
''One can only hope that other people, especially young persons, will learn from this incident and be more aware of the ramifications of their actions.''
At issue was whether the four teens caused or contributed to Many Horses' death by placing him in the garbage can, or whether he would have died anyway because of the alcohol.
Authorities have said that Many Horses had been drinking beer before meeting the four teens at a Mobridge convenience store. He then went with the others to a field northeast of Mobridge and drank more alcohol.
Lila Martel, Many Horses' foster mother, said justice had not been done. She said she continues to think about they way her foster son spent his final hours.
''What those kids did to him was unbearable. The idea of where they left him ... no one deserves to be left in a garbage can.''
from Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan
Lawyers file briefs in Many Horses case
By Eric Davis
Lawyers in the case of the death of Robert Many Horses of Mobridge
filed briefs last week, detailing the facts of the case and answering the
question of whether the defendants in the case could have prevented the death.
The memorandums regarding the death of Many Horses, 22, attempted to
answer whether his death could have been avoided by giving him proper medical attention.
The memorandums detailed the events of the early morning of June 30.
According to Walworth County State's Attorney Dan Todd's memorandum,
in the early morning hours of June 30, the four defendants, Layne Gisi, 19,
Joy Hahne,18, Ryan Goehring, 16, and Jody Larson, 19, met Many Horses at
Boomer's convenience store in Mobridge and invited him to join them. The four
defendants and Many Horses rode in Hahne's vehicle to a gravel road 3 to 4
miles northeast of Mobridge, known to most people as "Frey Seed Road." While driving
to the road, and at the road area, Gisi and Many Horses shared a pint of
Yukon Jack. Gisi and Many Horses were both intoxicated and were vomiting at the
scene. While at the road, Many Horses started to become incoherent and
later became unresponsive. Many Horses fell and cut his forehead causing it to
bleed. Gisi attempted to wake Many Horses by slapping him and then picking him
up and throwing him in a ditch.
Rick Sommers, attorney for Gisi, argues this point by saying that
there is no evidence supporting the claim that Gisi threw Many Horses in a
ditch. The attempts to awaken Many Horses failed. Hahne instructed Larson and
Gisi to place Many Horses in the vehicle. Sommers states in his brief that
Many Horses slipped from the grasp of Larson and Gisi and was dropped to the
ground. While driving towards Mobridge, according to Todd, Hahne asked where they
should take him and the reply was "anywhere." Hahne pulled into an alley
and asked Larson and Gisi to remove Many Horses from the car. Gisi opened the
car door and Many Horses fell out. He picked up Many Horses and put him head
first into a garbage can. Gisi indicated that he thought it would be a funny
joke if Many Horses was to wake up inside the garbage can.
At 7 a.m., Mobridge Chief of Police Brooks Johnson found Many Horses in the garbage can.
An autopsy report indicated that the cause of death was complications
due to ethanol toxicity, also known as alcohol poisoning. Many Horses'
blood ethanol level was 0.446 at the time of his death.
In her testimony at the preliminary hearing, Many Horses' foster
parent, Lila Martel, said that he had fetal alcohol syndrome which caused his
height to be under 5 feet tall and reduced his weight. She also said Many Horses
was unable to manage his own affairs. She testified that Many Horses had an
alcohol problem and was scheduled to attend an inpatient alcohol treatment
program.
In the brief filed by Sommers, he stated that Many Horses had been
drinking prior to meeting with the four defendants. He wrote that at a
minimum, Many Horses had a 40-ounce bottle of Old English malt liquor and a beer
prior to meeting with the four defendants. Earlier that evening, Many Horses
had arrived at a residence in Mobridge where he was already
intoxicated and asked to leave because of his condition.
Sommers also wrote that the alcohol Gisi and Many Horses shared did
not have time to "absorb into Many Horses system" because he vomited shortly
after drinking it. Sommers contends that the placing of Many Horses into a
garbage can was meant to be a joke, "a tasteless joke, but it was intended
to be a joke."
Todd argues that the defendants had a duty to provide medical aid to
Many Horses, stating that "statutory or common law places upon someone a
responsibility for care or support of another person."
"Civil law imposes upon individuals an obligation to act honestly and
morally towards others," he wrote.
Sommers stated that Todd's argument "flies in the face of his own
expert witness, Dr. Rick Kalister." Kalister testified that a non-medically
trained person would not know the difference between a comatose state and passed
out.
Kalister also testified that while at Mobridge Regional Hospital, he
never saw anyone bring a person in because they had passed out from alcohol.
The attorneys for Gisi and Hahne have filed for a dismissal
of the case due to lack of evidence.
According to Hahne's attorney, Drew Johnson, the only role that
Hahne played in the incident was that her car was the vehicle they were riding in
and she was the driver.
David Von Wald, attorney for Larson, wrote that if the court cannot
find sufficient evidence for the charges against Gisi, then there is no evidence
against Larson.
According to testimony, Larson's role in the events was helping Gisi
place Many Horses into the back seat of Hahne's vehicle after he had passed
out.
The charges against the four defendants were amended on Aug. 3. Gisi
was originally charged with second degree murder, but after the release
of the autopsy report, it was reduced to manslaughter in the first degree.
Hahne, Larson and Goehring have been charged with aiding and abetting manslaughter
in the first degree.
"If one could only ask Robert now what he would think of prosecuting
his friends for their conduct," Johnson wrote, "Robert would come to their
defense and ask that those charges be dismissed."
Killings Renew Distrust Among Sioux Indians --
Some of Tribe Blame Police for Slayings
Sept. 4, 1999
AP
PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) -- It's been nearly three months since two Sioux men were found slain in a culvert near the Nebraska line, and many Indians doubt authorities even care whether they solve the crime.
In fact, some Indian activists say the apparent standstill in the investigation only confirms their suspicion that white Nebraska lawmen helped kill Wilson Black Elk Jr. and Ronald Hard Heart or helped cover up the crime to make it seem as if Indians were responsible.
"It's just two dead Indians to them," Tom Poor Bear, who was Black Elk's half brother and Hard Heart's cousin, said of the FBI. "If these were two white people who were murdered, this place would be swarming with FBI agents. They'd be turning over every blade of grass."
The deaths have led to a violent protest and heightened long-standing tensions between whites and the Oglala Sioux from the poor and desolate Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The FBI says it is doing all it can. And the sheriff's department in Sheridan County, Neb., denies having any role in the killings or discriminating against Indians. But those statements do little to diminish the distrust on the reservation.
In a measure of how deep the distrust runs, the Sioux who believe white deputies were involved in the slaying can't cite any direct evidence. They believe the men were killed in Nebraska and their bodies were dumped on the reservation to make it seem as if a tribe member did it. But investigators have not said whether the bodies were moved.
Bad blood from 1973
Many of the bad feelings are left over from the American Indian Movement's 1973 armed takeover of a trading post at nearby Wounded Knee in a protest over the government's handling of complaints about Indian affairs. In 71 days of unrest, two Indians were killed and a deputy marshal was wounded.
Distrust of law officers also run high on South Dakota's eight other reservations, where unemployment often is staggering and alcoholism widespread.
In Mobridge, just across the Missouri River from the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, Indians have rallied to protest the way authorities have handled the death earlier this summer of Robert "Boo" Many Horses, 22, whose body was found face-down in a garbage can.
Alcohol kills man
The autopsy found that Many Horses died of alcohol poisoning. Four white teenagers who were drinking with him the night he died have been charged -- one with manslaughter -- for allegedly stuffing him in the can.
Indians are angry that the defendants are free as they await trial, while three Indians accused of severely beating a white man near Pine Ridge in August were denied bail.
"There is deep-rooted racism in South Dakota, and it can't be denied," said Alfred Bone Shirt, who is on the Lakota Nation Human Rights Committee. Lakota is the name some Sioux call themselves.
A series of protests
Indians have held a series of protests over both the Pine Ridge slayings and alcohol sales in tiny Whiteclay, Neb., where a few stores do a brisk business selling beer and booze to Sioux. Alcohol is banned at Pine Ridge, just two miles from Whiteclay.
During the first march, in June, several people attacked a store, threw soda, cigarettes and other items into the street and set fires in the building.
Before a rally the following week, the town's 22 residents were evacuated, and 100 troopers met the marchers in riot gear. Several demonstrators were arrested for crossing a police line.
Soon after, a group of Indians set up tents and tepees at "Camp Justice," near a grove of stunted elm trees on a hill overlooking the spot where the bodies were found. Poor Bear and about a dozen others have vowed to stay there until the crime is solved.
"All I want to do is have my brother rest in peace," said Edward Hard Heart. "Right now his spirit is wandering around, and he won't rest until we find out who killed him."
Cops reluctant to release details
Few details of the investigation have emerged. The FBI has shown autopsy results to the families but said releasing the results publicly might compromise the investigation. Poor Bear, who helped identify Black Elk's body, said the man was severely beaten.
Mark Vukelich, the FBI agent overseeing the investigation, said his agency and tribal police are making every effort to find who killed the men. A $15,000 reward for information has been offered.
"Because these remain in the unsolved category, they receive the highest priority," Vukelich said. "I disagree that we're not doing all we can."
Vukelich would not say whether Sheridan County law officers are being investigated. "We are investigating all angles of this case," he said. "That includes anybody who had any involvement in the crime scene."
Sheridan County Sheriff Terry Robbins said his department played no role in the deaths. As for allegations of racism, he said: "I have no idea why that sentiment is there, other than we have a large influx of Native Americans into our county and there is a number of them arrested. We try to treat everybody as equals, no matter what race, color or creed."
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