SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Two men have been arrested in connection with a downtown Sioux Falls assault that has left a man dead. The victim, 32-year-old Christopher Joel Mousseaux, was found lying in the street with multiple head injuries near The Banquet in downtown Sioux Falls the night of October 10.
26-year-old Steven Tuopeh and 28-year-old Jeff Pour were arrested Wednesday, and each charged with aggravated assault – bodily injury with indifference to human life, and aggravated assault – serious bodily injury.
Investigators say they are waiting on the autopsy report before more charges are filed.
Tuopeh and Pour both made their initial appearances in Minnehaha County Court Wednesday, with future preliminary hearings scheduled for Oct. 28 and Nov. 24, 2021.
While Wednesday may have marked their initial appearances for this case, Tuopeh and Pour are no strangers to the inside of a Minnehaha courtroom.
Both defendants have an extensive list of charges in Minnehaha County, with Tuopeh’s beginning on June 13, 2017, and Pour’s starting January 21, 2018.
Steven Tuopeh
2017
On June 13, 2017, Tuopeh was arrested and faced charges of driving with a suspended license and failure to maintain financial responsibility. He pled guilty to both charges and on September 11, 2017 was sentenced. He was ordered to pay a total of $436 in fines and costs, and received 30 days incarceration in jail, though the sentence was suspended. Tuopeh’s license was suspended for 30 days.
On July 9, 2017, Tuopeh was once again arrested and charged with failure to maintain financial responsibility. A bench warrant was issued for failure to appear on August 2, 2017 and on September 11, 2017 the charge was dismissed.
On July 12, 2017, Tuopeh was charged for driving with a suspended license, lacking proper license plates and for having an open container of alcohol accessible in the vehicle. These charges were also dismissed on September 11, 2017.
On December 27, 2017, Tuopeh was arrested and charged with domestic abuse for simple assault with intent to cause bodily injury. Tuopeh pled not guilty, and the charge was dismissed February 12, 2018.
2018
On July 28, 2018, Tuopeh was arrested and charged with failure to maintain financial responsibility, driving with a suspended license and driving without a license. On August 17, 2018, Tuopeh pled not guilty to all three charges. The charges for failure to maintain and for driving without a license were dismissed. On February 5, 2020, he pled guilty to the charge of driving with a suspended license and was ordered to pay a total of $150 in fines and costs.
2019
On March 31, 2019, Tuopeh was arrested and charged with possession of 2oz. of marijuana or less, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and having open alcoholic beverage container accessible in a vehicle. A bench warrant was issued for failure to appear on October 18, 2019, and all three charges were dismissed on February 5, 2020.
On August 20, 2019, Tuopeh was arrested following the issuance of a warrant and charged with burglary in the first degree, domestic abuse for simple assault and attempt to cause bodily injury, domestic abuse for simple assault and intent to cause bodily injury, and intentional damage to property in a sum of $400 or less. All four charges were dismissed on September 5, 2019.
Tuopeh was also charged on August 20, 2019, with 2nd degree petty theft of $400 or less. He pled not guilty on August 21, 2019, and a bench warrant was issued on October 18, 2019 for failure to appear. Tuopeh pled guilty to the petty theft charge on February 5, 2020 and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. The sentence was suspended, and he was ordered to pay a total of $122.50 in fines and costs.
On December 30, 2019, Tuopeh was arrested and held for arrest prior to a request for extradition. No plea was entered, and the case was dismissed on March 11, 2020.
2020
On August 7, 2020, a case was filed in court in which Tuopeh was charged with driving with a suspended license. A guilty plea was entered on October 1, 2020 and Tuopeh was ordered to pay $282.50 in fines and costs.
On August 28, 2020, Tuopeh was arrested and charged with possession of 2oz. of marijuana or less and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Tuopeh plead not guilty and both charges were dismissed on September 14, 2020.
On October 2, 2020, Tuopeh was arrested and charged with three counts of accessory to a felony, and one count of misprision of felony. Tuopeh was recharged with one count of accessory to a felony on October 14, 2020. He pled not guilty to the other two counts of accessory on October 19, 2020, and pled guilty to misprision on March 12, 2021. The two counts of accessory were dropped on March 12, 2021. Tuopeh was sentenced to 306 days in jail with 252 days suspended and credit for 108 day served. He was ordered to pay $196.50 in fines and costs.
2021
On October 12, 2021, Tuopeh was arrested and charged with possession of 1oz. or less of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of 2 oz. of marijuana or less and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. This case is still pending with his preliminary hearing set for November 24, 2021.
Jeff Pour
2018
On January 21, 2018, Pour was arrested and charged with obstruction of a police officer, jailer or firefighter, and disorderly conduct. He initially plead not guilty of both charges on February 6, 2018. The disorderly conduct charge was dismissed and Pour pled guilty to obstruction on March 13, 2018. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail. The sentence was suspended, and he was ordered to pay $150 in fines and costs.
On February 18, 2018, a case was filed in court in which Pour was charged with driving with a suspended license and disobeying a traffic signal. The traffic violation was dismissed and Pour pled guilty to driving with a suspended license on March 5, 2018. He was ordered to pay $270 in fines and costs.
2019
On January 8, 2019, a case was filed in which Pour was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault in attempt to cause bodily injury, simple assault by recklessly causing bodily injury, and two counts of simple assault in attempting to put another in fear of bodily injury. Pour pled not guilty to one count of assault with a deadly weapon on February 28, 2019 at which point he was recharged by indictment, and no guilty to the rest on March 12, 2019. Pour pled guilty to one count of simple assault in attempting to put another in fear of bodily injury on June 20, 2019, and the rest of the charges were dismissed. Pour served 20 days in jail with 340 days suspended. He was also ordered to pay $152.50 in fines and costs.
On March 31, 2019, Pour was arrested and charged with possession of 2 or less oz. or marijuana and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. He pled not guilty and both counts were dropped on October 29, 2019.
On May 12, 2019, Pour was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He pled not guilty on May 28, 2019, before entering a guilty plea on July 22, 2019. Pour was ordered to pay $100 in fines and costs.
2020
On April 19, 2020, Pour was arrested and charged with domestic abuse and simple assault, possession of two or less oz. of marijuana and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. The drug charges were dropped August 3, 2020, and he pled guilty to domestic abuse on June 24, 2020. He had previously pled not guilty in April. He was sentenced to 360 days in jail with 359 days suspended and one day credited for time served. He was also ordered to pay $261.50 in fines and costs.
On May 19, 2020, a case was filed in which Pour was charged with driving with a suspended license. He pled not guilty on June 29, 2020. A bench warrant was issued for failure to appear on August 27, 2020 and he pled guilty to the driving charge on April 9, 2021. He was ordered to pay $272.50 in fines and costs.
Also on May 19, a case was filed in which Pour was charged with speeding. He pled not guilty, and the charge was dismissed on April 9, 2021.
On June 28, 2020 Pour was arrested and charged with 14 counts of domestic abuse for assault and violating a protection order or no contact order. All but one was dismissed and Pour pled guilty on March 30, 2021. He received a 2-year suspended sentence, 48 months on probation and was ordered to pay $131.50 in costs.
On August 28, 2020, Pour was arrested and charged with possession of two or less oz. of marijuana and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. The marijuana charge was dropped, and he pled guilty to the paraphernalia charge on December 22, 2020. He was ordered to pay $150 in fines and costs.
