XPost: alt.fan.states.south-dakota, sac.politics, talk.politics.misc
XPost: talk.politics.misc

FORT PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Jason
Ravnsborg pleaded no contest Thursday to a pair of misdemeanor
traffic charges over a crash last year that killed a pedestrian,
avoiding jail time despite bitter complaints from the victim's
family that he was being too lightly punished for actions they
called "inexcusable."

Circuit Judge John Brown had little leeway to order jail time.
Instead, he fined the state's top law enforcement official $500
for each count plus court costs of $3,742. Brown also ordered
the Republican to "do a significant public service event" in
each of the next five years near the date of Joseph Boever's
death — granting a request from the Boever family. But he put
that on hold pending a final ruling after Ravnsborg's attorney
objected that it was not allowed by statute.

Ravnsborg said in a statement after the hearing that he plans to
remain in office. The plea capped the criminal portion of a case
that led Gov. Kristi Noem — a fellow Republican — and law
enforcement groups around the state to call for his resignation.
But he still faces a likely lawsuit from Boever's widow and a
potential impeachment attempt.

Ravnsborg's statement accused "partisan opportunists" of
exploiting the situation and said they had "manufactured rumors,
conspiracy theories and made statements in direct contradiction
to the evidence all sides agreed upon."

Noem, in a statement afterward, pushed the Legislature to
consider impeachment and said she ordered the House speaker be
given a copy of the investigative file. Impeachment proceedings
halted in February after the judge barred state officials from
divulging details of the investigation. Lawmakers indicated then
that they might resume after the criminal case ended.

The attorney general was driving home to Pierre from a political
fundraiser on Sept. 12 when he struck Boever, who was walking on
the side of a highway. In a 911 call after the crash, Ravnsborg
was initially unsure about what he hit and then told a
dispatcher it might have been a deer. He said he didn't realize
he struck a man until he returned to the crash scene the next
day and discovered the body of Boever, 55.

Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to making an illegal lane change
and using a phone while driving, which each carried a maximum
sentence of up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Prosecutors
dropped a careless driving charge.

Ravnsborg didn't attend the hearing — he didn't have to and was
represented by his attorney, Tim Rensch. That angered Boever's
family.

"Why, after having to wait nearly a year, do we not have the
chance to face him?" Boever's sister, Jane Boever, asked the
court. She said "his cowardly behavior leaves us frustrated."

She said her brother was "left behind carelessly" the night he
died. She accused Ravnsborg of running down her brother and then
using his position and resources to string the case along. She
said he has shown no remorse, and only "arrogance toward the
law."

Jane Boever called the punishment "a slap on the wrist."

"Our brother lay in the ditch for 12 hours," she said. "This is
inexcusable."

Boever's widow, Jennifer Boever, said Ravnsborg's "actions are
incomprehensible and ... cannot be forgiven."

Rensch pushed back hard on the family's criticism, calling the
attorney general an "honorable man." Rensch said Ravsnborg had
been consistent from the beginning that he simply did not see
Boever. And he noted that the case was "not a homicide case, and
it's not a manslaughter case."

"Accidents happen, people die. It should not happen. No one
wants anybody to die," he said.

Rensch told reporters after the hearing that Ravnsborg had
cooperated fully with investigators by sitting down for two
interviews and allowing his phones to be analyzed.

"Basically just take your shirt off and say, 'Here I am, bring
it on.' I'll answer anything you've got, and that's what this
guy did," Rensch said.

Beadle County State's Attorney Michael Moore, one of the
prosecutors, agreed that the attorney general had been
cooperative. He was also satisfied with Ravnsborg's punishment
and the crash investigation.

"Because of who it was and the high profile nature of the case,
the investigation was a lot more thorough," he said.

After a months-long probe led to prosecutors charging Ravnsborg
with the three misdemeanors in February, Noem put maximum
pressure on Ravnsborg to resign, releasing videos of
investigators questioning him. They revealed gruesome details,
including that detectives believed Boever's body had collided
with Ravnsborg's windshield with such force that part of his
eyeglasses were deposited in the backseat of Ravnsborg's car.

Prosecutors said Ravnsborg was on his phone roughly one minute
before the crash, but phone records showed it was locked at the
moment of impact. Ravnsborg told investigators that the last
thing he remembered before impact was turning off the radio and
looking down at the speedometer.

A toxicology test taken roughly 15 hours after the crash showed
no alcohol in Ravnsborg's system, and people who attended the
fundraiser said he was not seen drinking alcohol.

Ravnsborg adamantly denied doing anything wrong. He insisted he
had no idea he hit a man until returning to the crash site and
that he is worthy of remaining the state's top law enforcement
officer.

"Joe's death weighs heavily on me and always will," Ravnsborg
said in his statement. "I've often wondered why the accident
occurred and all the things that had to have happened to make
our lives intersect."

Ravnsborg's insistence on remaining in office has opened a
divide among Republicans, with him retaining support among some
GOP circles. The attorney general has been spotted working
booths for local Republican groups at county fairs in recent
weeks.

But popular predecessor Marty Jackley is already running for his
old job and has collected the support of most of the state's
county prosecutors. Political parties will select candidates for
attorney general at statewide conventions next year.

Ravnsborg built his political rise on personal connections in
the party. It was his dutiful attendance at local GOP events
like the one he was returning from when he struck Boever that
propelled him from being a party outsider to winning the
Republican nomination for attorney general in 2018.

Boever's family said they hope Ravnsborg is driven from office
one way or another.

"It is not too late for the state Legislature to resume
impeachment proceedings," Jane Boever said. "And if they fail
us, then it's left to the voters of South Dakota to remove him
from the ballot box."

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/27/1031638625/jason-ravnsborg-south- dakota-deadly-crash

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