Minnehaha County state's attorney declines prosecuting 2022 Gateway Lounge homicide
The Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office has decided not to go through with the prosecution of a homicide case from fall 2022, Sioux Falls Police Department spokesperson Sam Clemens said Friday.
The case is now considered closed.
The incident dates back to October and November 2022. At the time, on Oct. 27, 2022, a man identified as Shane Allen Birger, 43, from Sioux Falls, was involved in what police called a "physical altercation," at the Gateway Lounge and Casino in the western part of the city.
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The initial call to police came in as an individual having trouble breathing, according to Clemens. At that time, police were not sure if the altercation came as a result of a fight, but the victim ended up dying in the hospital in November 2022.
"There was a guy that was injured and taken to the hospital,” Clemens said. “We didn't know if there had been some fight, if he fell, if there was some type of medical event.”
The following autopsy determined the death was by homicide, Clemens said.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls police say Gateway Lounge homicide in 2022 is now closed
