Dupree man charged in June murder on Cheyenne River Indian Reservation
Jul. 13—PIERRE — A Dupree man is facing life in prison aftering allegedly murdering a man in late June.
Stuart Cochran, Sr., 48, of Dupree, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of first-degree murder and one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
The indictment alleges that June 25, within the boundaries of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in Dewey County, Cochran, Sr., willfully, deliberately and maliciously killed a man by shooting him with a handgun. The indictment also alleges the shooting was premeditated.
In a July 11 appearance at the U.S. District Courthouse in Pierre, Cochran, Sr., pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, Cochran, Sr., could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison and be ordered to pay fines of up to $250,000. If he were to be sentenced to less than life in prison, he could face up to five years of supervised release after the completion of a prison sentence.
Cochran was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the FBI, as part of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is an evidence-based program to reduce 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.
