Janklow prosecutor consults AG's office

By Joe Kafka, Associated Press Writer | Saturday, August 23, 2003

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PIERRE — The Moody County prosecutor considering whether to charge U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow in a fatal traffic accident contacted the attorney general's office Thursday.

Larry Long, state attorney general, said Bill Ellingson had a list of general and specific questions. However, Long said it would be premature for him to disclose the nature of the request.

"It's not surprising or unusual that Bill (Ellingson) would open a line of communication with us on this particular case," the attorney general said Friday.

Prosecutors often ask for aid, Long said. Most are part-time state's attorneys and handle criminal matters along with their private law practices, he said.

"We get these requests daily. Occasionally, we do research. Occasionally, they just want a second opinion on some course of action that they are contemplating," Long said.

In some instances, the attorney general's office is asked to take the lead or assist in county prosecutions, he added. Long would not say if Ellingson has asked for that kind of help.

Ellingson, who declined Friday to answer questions, has been a part-time prosecutor for 11 years. He first held the elected Moody County office from 1977-1984. Ellingson became state's attorney again in 2000 when the former prosecutor was appointed as a judge.

Although Ellingson got the accident report late Wednesday from the Highway Patrol, he has yet to decide whether charges will be filed. The most serious potential charge is second-degree manslaughter, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Ellingson has been deluged by reporters since Janklow is alleged to have run a stop sign at an estimated 70 mph to 75 mph. The crash killed motorcyclist Randolph E. Scott of Hardwick, Minn.

The speed limit on the county road is 55 mph.

In a news release received by e-mail on Friday, Ellingson said an attempt to recover information from an electronic sensing device in Janklow's car would take time because an interface cable needed to read the data was on backorder.

"Contacts have been made all over the country in an attempt to locate one," Ellingson said of the cable.

The state's attorney said investigators planned to finish their reports with the information available to them and deliver it to his office sometime on Friday.

Ellingson can file a criminal complaint against Janklow or call a grand jury to consider the evidence and decide if an indictment should be issued. South Dakota prosecutors often use grand juries in major cases because of the relative ease in getting indictments and because the process eliminates time-consuming preliminary hearings.

Janklow, the state's longest-serving governor, former attorney general and former chief legal services officer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, has said he expects to be charged with something.

Among misdemeanor options are reckless and careless driving. Reckless driving carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine; careless driving is punishable by 30 days in jail and a $200 fine.

Felony second-degree manslaughter is not without precedent against South Dakota motorists. State prosecutors have won convictions in several cases.

Examples:

— Wendell Falk of South Shore pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter after a January 2001 accident that killed Marie Pennington of South Shore in a head-on collision. Falk was sentenced to four months in jail, put on probation for two years and fined $500.

— Leslie Reynolds of Rapid City pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter for a 1999 accident in which her pickup struck a motorcycle driven by Dale Steiner, who was killed. She was given a 10-year suspended sentence, six months in the county jail and 10 years' probation.

— Lonnie Nelson of Summit was convicted of second-degree manslaughter after his truck rolled through a stop sign in September 2000 and killed Carol Lundholm of Watertown and her teenage son, Corey Schoepp. Nelson received a suspended seven-year prison sentence and was ordered to spend six months in jail.

Janklow ran a stop sign and was speeding, according to the Highway Patrol's accident report.

Janklow's son, Russell, has told reporters that his father's speeding does not rise to the level of a manslaughter charge. Someone would have to be going much faster than 70 mph or 75 mph, he said.

The state law defining second-degree manslaughter calls it the reckless killing of another person. In another section of law, reckless is characterized as conduct that ignores a significant risk.

"A person is reckless with respect to circumstances when he consciously and unjustifiably disregards a substantial risk that such circumstances may exist," the law says.

Janklow's driving record shows a dozen speeding tickets over a four-year period ending in 1994, when he won a third term as governor after an eight-year layoff. He has not been ticketed for speeding since that time, however.

Ken James, Flandreau police chief, said Ellingson goes by the book in prosecutions and will do the right thing. While some state's attorneys are hasty in pressing charges, Ellingson is not, James said Friday.

"Bill likes to have everything in order. He doesn't get easily ruffled, and he's reliable in difficult situations."