PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Four South Dakotans testified under oath during Thursday’s House Select Committee on Investigation, shining more light on how the criminal prosecution came to its conclusion and how the office of the South Dakota’s Attorney General has functioned since a 2020 deadly crash investigation.
Lawmakers on the House Select Committee on Investigation concluded their eight meeting Thursday, which lasted nearly four hours with two and half hours of public testimony from Tim Bormann, David Natvig, Emily Sovell and Michael Moore.
The group of nine lawmakers, seven Republicans and two Democrats, are working to decide whether Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s actions from the crash that killed Joe Boever are impeachable offenses. The committee will recommend whether or not impeachment should move onto the full floor of the House of Representatives.
After the testimony from Ravnsborg’s chief of staff, the director of the Division of Criminal Investigation and the two state’s attorneys who prosecuted the case, the committee took no further action and set its next meeting for March 10.
Highlights from Thursday’s testimony included text messages from Ravnsborg to his co-workers Bormann and Natvig about the crash.
Both Bormann and Natvig told lawmakers Ravnsborg told them he wasn’t sure what he hit.
Bormann, who was with Ravnsborg on the morning of September 13, 2020, when Ravnsborg found Boever’s body at the crash scene on U.S. Highway 14 near the west edge of Highmore, told lawmakers he believed Ravnsborg may have hit a deer.
You can see those text messages in the photos below.
Text messages from Jason Ravnsborg to Tim Bormann and David Natvig were shown during meeting of South Dakota House Select Committee on Investigation. 
Text messages from Jason Ravnsborg to Tim Bormann and David Natvig were shown during meeting of South Dakota House Select Committee on Investigation. 
Text messages from Jason Ravnsborg to Tim Bormann and David Natvig were shown during meeting of South Dakota House Select Committee on Investigation.
Bormann said Ravnsborg called him as he was driving back to Pierre in Mike Volek’s car and asked Bormann to give him a ride back from Highmore after returning Volek’s car. Volek served as the Hyde County Sheriff but died this past fall.
Bormann said Ravnsborg wanted to fill Volek’s car with gas so they stopped at the gas station in Highmore after driving from Pierre. Bormann said Ravnsborg noticed some debris from the crash and wanted to go look at the crash scene.
Ravnsborg told Bormann “there’s a man” while motioning his hand and that’s when Bormann said he saw Boever’s body.
Bormann said Ravnsborg was “obviously shook” and he didn’t have “a lot of color in his face.”
Both Bormann and Natvig told lawmakers they didn’t believe the investigation has affected work in either the attorney general’s office or the DCI office.
“We’re too busy to worry about this,” Natvig said.
‘Nothing left undone’
Sovell and Moore spoke about the difficulty of managing such a high-profile case, but both assured lawmakers the investigation was professional and thorough.
Sovell specifically mentioned disagreements she had with the Department of Public Safety Secretary Craig Price about releasing evidence to the public regarding the case. Sovell said she did not want the North Dakota agent interviews with Ravnsborg released to the public.
Moore called the interviews being released “unethical” and said there was no benefit for them as prosecutors.
Moore said he’s done homicide cases that haven’t been investigated as thoroughly as this case.
“I was very impressed with the investigation,” Moore said. “I don’t think there was anything left undone.”
Moore said law enforcement and prosecutors have disagreements all the time and added the Department of Public Safety wanted charges and the governor wanted charges.
“We don’t live in a vacuum. We knew what the governor wanted us to do,” Moore said.
Sovell said Ravnsborg’s point of impact was outside the lane of travel. Moore said he believes Ravnsborg was outside the lane of travel but he wasn’t sure how far outside the lane he was.
“There could be a million reasons why he was outside the lane of travel,” Moore said.
With the latest round of testimony finished, lawmakers on the committee will need to determine whether more witnesses are needed and when they to put together a final report required to be presented to the entire House of Representatives.
The South Dakota Constitution says grounds for impeachment are “drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office.”
A simple majority of 36 representatives in the House would be necessary to impeach Ravnsborg, at which time the state Constitution states there’d be “Suspension of duties between impeachment and acquittal.”
After that, there would need to be at least a 20-day delay until a Senate trial could be held. Senators could vote to convict, which would permanently remove Ravnsborg from office.
6:45 p.m.
All four people were released from their subpoenas by the committee and lawmakers returned to executive session.
Lawmakers heard about nearly three hours of testimony on Thursday.
The next meeting is set for March 10.
5:50 p.m.
Up next are Sovell and Moore who led the criminal prosecution against Ravnsborg.
Sovell said she’s been practicing law in South Dakota since 2001 and has worked in both Sully and Hyde County for 10 years.
Sovell said she was notified by Mike Volek, the Hyde County Sheriff, that there had been a crash involving the attorney general and that outside investigators were being brought in.
“It was a challenge,” Sovell said about the chase, noting the amount of phone calls and media inquires regarding the case.
Sovell said she let the officers do their job but if she had questions she would get a hold of the people she needed. She said she worked closely with the Department of Public Safety and the crash reconstruction.
Sovell said it took a lot of time to gather all of the material to assess the possible crimes.
Moore said state laws for vehicular homicide requires the driver of the vehicle to be intoxicated and to drive in a negligent manner. He said a manslaughter charge would have required “reckless” behavior from Ravnsborg.
Moore said investigators couldn’t determine why Ravnsborg was outside the lane of travel or for how long. He noted Ravnsborg was only going two miles per hour over the speed limit and he didn’t believe there was enough to prove he was “reckless.”
“At the time of the impact, he was not on the phone,” Moore said.
Asked why a Grand Jury wasn’t used, Sovell said they had enough information to process the case of the whole.
“Everyone knew what the facts were. It was a legal determination,” Moore said.
Moore said South Dakota doesn’t have a law on “negligent homicide.” He said a Supreme Court justice noted a gap in South Dakota’s laws regarding negligent homicide.
Sovell said she could assure the committee on the investigation’s integrity. She said she resisted many requests to disclose more information about the investigation but she did give the OK to let the 911 call.
Sovell said she did not want the interviews with Ravnsborg to be released.
“That was not the norm,” said Sovell, adding it made her job harder when evidence was released.
Moore called the interviews being released “unethical” and said there was no benefit for them as prosecutors.
Moore said he’s done homicide cases that haven’t been investigated as thoroughly as this case.
“I was very impressed with the investigation,” Moore said. “I don’t think there was anything left undone.”
Sovell confirmed North Dakota investigators told her they believed Ravnsborg was lying to them.
“The areas they were expressing concern didn’t validate a criminal charge,” Sovell said.
Moore said law enforcement and prosecutors have disagreements all the time and added the Department of Public Safety wanted charges and the governor wanted charges.
“We don’t live in a vacuum. We knew what the governor wanted us to do,” Moore said.
Sovell said Ravnsborg’s point of impact was outside the lane of travel. Moore said he believes Ravnsborg was outside the lane of travel but he wasn’t sure how far outside the lane he was.
“There could be a million reasons why he was outside the lane of travel,” Moore said.
Sovell clarified the South Dakota Department of Public Safety was focused on the crash reconstruction, while North Dakota agents handled the interviews and gathering of Ravnsborg’s evidence.
Sovell said she excluded Secretary Craig Price from her work on the case because of his pressure to want to release evidence to the public.
“There was a strong desire for the evidence to be in the public and I disagreed with that,” Sovell said.
5:15 p.m.
David Natvig, director of the Division of Criminal Investigation which works under the attorney general’s office, is speaking next.
Natvig also tells lawmakers Ravnsborg told him he didn’t know what he hit and that he was in the roadway when impact happened.
Natvig said he hasn’t looked at any of the investigation materials and realized early on there was a conflict so he didn’t look at any reports.
Natvig said he’s not sure if DCI has a policy if one of their workers is part of an investigation. He said if there’s a conflict, they don’t investigate and it depends on the situation.
“This is a strange situation,” Natvig said, when pressed by Ryan Cwach (D-Yankton) about what he thought about Ravnsborg asking a DCI agent about his phone. Cwach said the DCI agent documented the conversation with Ravnsborg inquiring about his phones.
Natvig said the issue hasn’t kept him from carrying out his daily duties.
“We’re too busy to worry about this,” Natvig said.
Natvig said he believe North Dakota agents were the lead investigators.
4:35 p.m.
Ravnsborg’s chief of staff Tim Bormann is speaking first. Bormann was with Ravnsborg on the morning of September 13, 2020, when Ravnsborg found the body of Joe Boever at the crash scene on U.S. Highway 14 at the west edge of Highmore.
Responding to questions from Mike Stevens (R-Yankton) Bormann said he got a text message and photo of the vehicle after the crash. Ravnsborg told Bormann he didn’t know what he hit. You can see those text messages in the photos below.
Text messages from Jason Ravnsborg to Tim Bormann and David Natvig were shown during meeting of South Dakota House Select Committee on Investigation. Text messages from Jason Ravnsborg to Tim Bormann and David Natvig were shown during meeting of South Dakota House Select Committee on Investigation. Text messages from Jason Ravnsborg to Tim Bormann and David Natvig were shown during meeting of South Dakota House Select Committee on Investigation.
Bormann said he assumed Ravnsborg hit a deer. Bormann said he then received a call from Ravnsborg as he was driving back to Pierre in the Hyde County Sheriff’s (Mike Volek) car and asked Bormann to give him a ride the next morning.
Bormann said Ravnsborg seemed like a guy who had just gone through a “scare” but was happy to be on the road home.
Bormann followed Ravnsborg from Pierre to Highmore. Ravnsborg filled the Hyde County Sheriff’s car with gas and mentioned he’d noticed part of his car on the road and wanted to go look at the crash.
Bormann said a large piece of plastic was on the side of the road and that’s where they stopped. Bormann walked east and Ravnsborg walked west and then Ravnsborg called Bormann’s name.
Bormann said Ravnsborg must have wanted to stop and look at the scene to see what he had hit.
Ravnsborg told Bormann “there’s a man” while motioning his hand and that’s when Bormann said he saw Boever’s body.
Bormann said Ravnsborg didn’t say much else after they found the body. Bormann said he or Ravnsborg didn’t get any closer to the body. They decided to go Volek’s house and get him on the scene.
Bormann said Ravnsborg was “obviously shook” and he didn’t have “a lot of color in his face.”
Volek sent Ravnsborg home and Bormann said it generally surprised him but he didn’t question the sheriff.
“That was a very quiet drive,” Bormann said about the ride he and Ravnsborg had leaving the scene.
There was going to be a lot of interest and a lot of calls, Bormann said. He said he couldn’t do his job at the attorney general’s office if he was fielding calls about Ravnsborg’s personal matters.
He said the attorney general’s office did receive a lot of calls but they were able to direct them to a person Ravnsborg setup for those calls.
Bormann said the office of the attorney general has not been hindered to get work done in a timely manner.
“The work continues every day,” Bormann said.
Bormann said he didn’t have a role in the public statement Ravnsborg issued on an office letterhead after the crash.
Bormann said he believes Ravnsborg’s demeanor changed after finding Boeve’s body.
4:05 p.m.
The group of lawmakers remains in executive session. KELOLAND’s Bob Mercer is reporting chairman Spencer Gosch (R-Glenham) won’s allow reporters or photographers behind the desk for privacy reasons.
Boever’s cousin, Nick Nemec is attending Thursday’s meeting.
3:34 p.m.
The House Select Committee on Investigation meeting has started and gone into executive session.
3:05 p.m.
According to the agenda, the committee will meet in executive session, which is closed to the public, from 3:05 p.m. to 4 p.m. Public testimony is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
KELOLAND’s Dan Santella is in Room 414 at the State Capitol in Pierre. The 3 p.m. start time has been delayed, but after the meeting starts and roll call is taken the group plans to go into executive session until testimony starts.
12:20 p.m.
Bormann and Natvig both work in the South Dakota Attorney General’s office with Bormann serving as Ravnsborg’s chief of staff and Natvig serving as the director of the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Sovell is the current Sully County State’s Attorney, but served as the Hyde County Deputy State’s Attorney and led the criminal case against Ravnsborg with assistance from Moore, the Beadle County State’s Attorney.
In August 2021, Ravnsborg’s lawyer entered a no-contest plea for two misdemeanors.
The South Dakota Constitution says grounds for impeachment are “drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office.”
A simple majority of 36 representatives in the House would be necessary to impeach Ravnsborg, at which time the state Constitution states there’d be “Suspension of duties between impeachment and acquittal.” There’s then, at least, a 20-day delay until a Senate trial could be held. Senators could vote to convict, which would permanently remove Ravnsborg from office.
Ravnsborg’s first term as attorney general would end in January 2023, regardless of who the Republican Party nominates at a state convention and who voters choose in the November election.
