South Dakota attorney general faces $500 fine after agreeing to plea no contest to hitting and killing a man with his car who he 'thought was a deer'

 South Dakota's attorney general will plead no contest to running over and killing a man before driving off after a Republican event last year. 

State Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg will no longer go to trial on Thursday for charges of careless driving, using a mobile phone and failing to stay in his lane the night he struck and killed Joseph Boever, 55, on September 12. 

Ravnsborg maintained he believed that he had hit a deer, even though investigators say Boever's glasses flew into his car after the impact.  

Beadle County State´s Attorney Michael Moore, who is one of two prosecutors on the case, said 'there won´t be a trial and there will be a plea entered,' but he declined to discuss further details of the arrangement. 

Moore said a judge´s order that bars state officials from discussing details of the investigation prevented him from disclosing more.

The attorney general's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg
Joe Boever

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg (left) struck and killed Joe Boever (right) in the hit and run on September 12 but told cops he believed he had hit a deer

A photo of the Ford sedan that South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was driving on September 12 when he he struck and killed a pedestrian. He faces misdemeanor charges

A photo of the Ford sedan that South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was driving on September 12 when he he struck and killed a pedestrian. He faces misdemeanor charges


Ravnsborg, the state's top law enforcement officer, was charged with the three misdemeanors that each carry sentences of up to 30 days in jail and up to a $500 fine. 

Ravnsborg attorney, Tim Rensch, told the The New York Times, that the careless driving charge would be dropped as part of the plea deal, meaning the scandal-hit AG faces a maximum of 60 days in jail, and a $1,000 fine. 

The charges don't affect the Republican's qualification to hold the office of attorney general in South Dakota, and Ravnsborg says he wants to stay on.

But top Republicans in the state have called for him to step down and have pushed for the state Legislature to impeach him.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, pictured, had called on Ravnsborg to resign

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, pictured, had called on Ravnsborg to resign

Gov. Kristi Noem, a fellow Republican, had issued a statement simply saying, 'I believe the Attorney General should resign.'

State Representative Jamie Smith, a Democrat, who had sponsored an impeachment resolution against Ravnsborg, added that the impeachment efforts would depend on how the case ultimately ends.  

'I still don't think he's able to do his job effectively, and so we're going to have to see,' he told The NY Times. 'This is a big cloud hanging over that office.' 

Republican state Rep. Steve Haugaard, an ally of the attorney general, said an impeachment seemed unlikely, especially given that new details about the crash won't come out at a criminal trial.  

Lawyers for victim's widow Jenny Boever said in a statement that they would be filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Ravnsborg, partly in the hopes of getting answers to lingering questions about the crash.

'The family deserves answers to what happened that night. The Attorney General should be held accountable for his actions, just like anyone else,' lawyer Scott Heidepriem said in the statement.

Heiderpriem did not immediately reply to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  

Nick Nemec, Boever's cousin, added in a statement, 'As a family we are very disappointed in the decision to charge Mr. Ravnsborg with only three misdemeanors, none for killing a man.'

'I am convinced, despite his claims otherwise, he saw Joe in the moment before the crash.' 


Boever, second from the right, pictured with his wife Jenny, third from the right, and relatives. Jenny plans to file a wrongful death suit against that state attorney general

Boever, second from the right, pictured with his wife Jenny, third from the right, and relatives. Jenny plans to file a wrongful death suit against that state attorney general

Witnesses at the fundraiser have vouched for the attorney general that they didn't see him drinking alcohol and that he did not seem 'impaired in any way shape or form'. Pictured:  Ravnsborg sitting near the stage at Rooster's Bar and Grill in Redfield on the night of the crash

Witnesses at the fundraiser have vouched for the attorney general that they didn't see him drinking alcohol and that he did not seem 'impaired in any way shape or form'. Pictured:  Ravnsborg sitting near the stage at Rooster's Bar and Grill in Redfield on the night of the crash

Elected to his first term in 2018, the attorney general initially told authorities that he thought he had struck a deer or another large animal while he was driving home to Pierre in him 2011 Ford Taurus from a Republican fundraiser late on Sept. 12. 

He said he had searched the unlit area with a cellphone flashlight and didn´t realize he had killed a man until the next day when he returned to the scene on U.S. 14, near Highmore.

But in videos released by Gov. Kristi Noem this year, criminal investigators confronted Ravnsborg with gruesome details of the crash, including that Boever's eyeglasses were found inside Ravnsborg's vehicle. 

At one point, they told him: 'His face was in your windshield, Jason. Think about that.'

Ravnsborg seemed unsure in the videos about how he had swerved onto the shoulder, but detectives told him bone scrapings were found on the shoulder's rumble strip.

'I never saw him. I never saw him,' Ravnsborg told the detectives


Crash investigators said in November that Ravnsborg was distracted when he veered onto the shoulder of the highway where Boever was walking. 

But prosecutors took months more to make a charging decision in the crash, launching an investigation that considered cellphone GPS data, video footage from along Ravnsborg´s route and DNA evidence.

A toxicology report taken roughly 15 hours after the crash showed no alcohol in Ravnsborg´s system, and people attending the fundraiser said he was not seen drinking alcohol.

Noem called on Ravnsborg to resign in February after the investigation concluded, but Ravnsborg resisted those calls, saying he was still capable of fulfilling the duties of his office and asking that he be given due process under the law. 

Three law enforcement groups, the South Dakota Fraternal Order of Police, the South Dakota Chiefs´ of Police Association and the South Dakota Sheriffs´ Association, joined the governor´s calls for him to step down.

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation interviews South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg on September 30 about the hit and run in which Joseph Boever was killed

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation interviews South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg on September 30 about the hit and run in which Joseph Boever was killed

Nick Nemec is pictured surveying the ares of the 14 Highway in Highmore, South Dakota, where their cousin was struck and killed

Nick Nemec is pictured surveying the ares of the 14 Highway in Highmore, South Dakota, where their cousin was struck and killed 

Boever's truck is pictured after he was struck. He had crashed his truck and was walking back to it at night to retrieve it when he was struck

Boever's truck is pictured after he was struck. He had crashed his truck and was walking back to it at night to retrieve it when he was struck 

Tire tracks are seen on the side of US Highway 14 near the area where Ranvsborg struck Boever as he drove home from a Republican fundraiser in September

Tire tracks are seen on the side of US Highway 14 near the area where Ranvsborg struck Boever as he drove home from a Republican fundraiser in September

The Republican-dominated Legislature considered impeaching the attorney general this year, but momentum quickly died out and lawmakers decided to wait until after the criminal proceedings to consider whether to proceed. 

House lawmakers said Wednesday that they were still digesting what the plea deal meant for possible impeachment.

Republican Rep. Tim Goodwin, who has called for Ravnsborg to resign, didn´t drop the possibility of a fresh effort to remove him from office. 

It would require a special session, which can be called either by the governor or by two-thirds of both the House and Senate.

'There´s still one person that died, and he´s our senior law enforcement officer,' Goodwin said.

Ravnsborg´s attorneys filed a motion last month alleging that Boever's alcoholism and prescription drug abuse led at least one family member, a cousin, to believe that a depressed Boever killed himself by jumping in front of Ravnsborg´s car.

Ravnsborg hasn't said whether he will seek a second term next year, but his predecessor, Marty Jackley, is running for his old job. 

Jackley served for 10 years in the post before losing the Republican primary for governor to Noem in 2018.

South Dakota attorney general faces $500 fine after agreeing to plea no contest to hitting and killing a man with his car who he 'thought was a deer' South Dakota attorney general faces $500 fine after agreeing to plea no contest to hitting and killing a man with his car who he 'thought was a deer' Reviewed by CUZZ BLUE on August 26, 2021 Rating: 5

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