A Colorado man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing a woman on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during an argument in September 2016.
Thirty-seven-year-old Orlando de Macias initially was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Annie Colhoff, who was shot in Pine Ridge village. He eventually pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors recommended a five-year prison sentence, on Tuesday, citing victim misconduct because Colhoff had pursued de Macias and cut him in the leg with a knife.
Federal Judge Jeffrey Viken decided five years wasn’t enough because he said de Macias had intended to kill Colhoff, not just defend himself.
Colorado Man Sentenced For South Dakota Reservation Slaying
