Department of Justice

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Carjacking and Use and Brandishing of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence was sentenced on October 29, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.

Curtis Horse, age 30, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, including three years in federal prison for the Carjacking conviction and a consecutive sentence of seven years in federal prison for the Firearm conviction. Horse was also sentenced to five years of supervised release to follow imprisonment and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution was ordered in an amount to be set at a later date.

Horse was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 8, 2020. He pleaded guilty on July 9, 2021. The conviction stems from Horse burglarizing and damaging property at a construction business building in Rapid City during the early morning hours of November 13, 2020. After breaking into the construction business, Horse stole a vehicle, tools, and a firearm belonging to another business that kept property at the same location. Horse fled with the vehicle until he abandoned it near a school elsewhere in Rapid City. Horse then took the firearm and walked into another business, where an individual was working on an indoor construction project. Horse pointed the gun at the individual, demanding his pickup keys and cell phone. Horse left in the person’s pickup. When law enforcement located Horse, he led them on a high-speed chase in Rapid City before making a turn into and hiding behind a business after cresting a hill, eluding officers. Later that day, law enforcement near Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, spotted Horse in the pickup. Horse led officers on a chase at speeds up to 115 miles per hour from Porcupine to Evergreen housing, also on the reservation. Horse then led the chase through residential property in Evergreen before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing from police. Horse was not arrested until the next day, when he was found hiding in the attic of a residence in Evergreen.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Rapid City Police Department, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.

Horse was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.