And now:LISN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Web posted Thursday, August 26, 1999 Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan http://www.pressanddakotan.com/stories/082699/new_0826990015.html Federal Authorities Investigate Beating In Martin By JOE KAFKA Associated Press Writer MARTIN -- A beating that left a man in critical condition was not a hate crime but the result of alcohol and an argument, relatives of the victim and of a suspect said Wednesday. While the sheriff initially characterized it as a hate crime, the FBI and federal prosecutors said it was too early to label it as such, although their investigation continued. Brad Young, 21, of Martin, was in critical condition Wednesday at Rapid City Regional Hospital. He was found early Saturday, about seven hours after the alleged beating, near Allen on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Louis Means of Martin and Byron Bissonette of Yellow Bear, both 18, pleaded innocent Wednesday to federal charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The charges are federal because the crime occurred on the reservation. U.S. Magistrate Marshall Young ordered that the two be held in Pennington County Jail until their next court appearance. Young said the two are dangerous and a flight risk. He set a preliminary hearing for Means for Sept. 1. Bissonette's lawyer, Marty Jackley, said he has not decided whether to ask for a preliminary hearing. In such hearings, prosecutors must present sufficient evidence that a crime was committed and that the accused committed it. A third suspect in the alleged beating is a 17-year-old male, Vargo said. Means and Bissonette are American Indian and Young is white, but prosecutors declined to describe the case as a hate crime. ''It is premature to label these allegations as a hate crime,'' said U.S. Attorney Ted McBride. A grand jury will be called within a month to determine if any more charges will be filed against the two, he said. They face maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fines if convicted of the assault charges. Nancy Neuharth, Young's aunt, said she doubts the assault was race related. ''Brad was well liked by Indians and whites,'' said Neuharth, of Martin. ''They were out doing things they shouldn't have been doing. It's the times. Kids are out doing things they shouldn't do,'' she said. Bennett County Deputy Sheriff Brandon Arnold said Young had gotten together with the three on Friday night when they asked him to buy alcohol. The four had driven to an abandoned house west of Allen to party, according to a written statement by William Grode, an FBI special agent in Minneapolis. Bissonette's uncle, Arthur Has No Horses, of Martin, said he talked to his nephew Tuesday and was told there was drinking followed by an argument. ''He (Bisonette) said it all started from an argument over Brad's wife,'' Has No Horses said. Means told Oglala Tribal police that he, Bissonette and the juvenile had ''beaten Bradley Young, dragged him across a field, thrown him into a house crawlspace. dragged him out and then kicked him numerous times in the head,'' according to the FBI statement. Young suffered a skull fracture and remained unconscious Wednesday, said Dr. William Ganz, a staff neurosurgeon at Rapid City Regional. ''I'm optimistic that he'll survive and eventually wake up,'' Ganz said. Young also suffered damage to both ears that a plastic surgeon said can be corrected, said his mother, Carol Bucholz, of Lexington, Neb. ''His brain scans have been OK so far, but there still could be some damage,'' she said Wednesday. All Contents ©Copyright Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan -- ================================================================ League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere "Many Nations, One People" L.I.S.N. is an alliance created to unite all Indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere into one great Confederation to politically empower our Nations as one people. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] LISN Web Site: http://www.lisn.net ================================================================ To subscribe to the mailing list on the new server, please send an email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the content: subscribe league ================================================================ Disclaimer: This material is distributed in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. All copyrights belong to original publisher. LISN has not verified the accuracy of the forwarded message. Forwarding this message does not necessarily imply agreement with the positions stated there-in. ================================================================
