Two brothers accused of breaking into a house and beating the owner with a bottle have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in U.S. District Court.

Lance Little Dog, 18, and Corey Little Dog, 26, of Eagle Butte, were indicted on charges of first-degree burglary, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and aiding and abetting.

According to federal court documents, they are charged with entering an Eagle Butte home the night of April 1, then kicking the victim and assaulting him with a bottle.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. No trial date was set.

In other U.S. District Court cases:

• Chane Coomes, 45, Pine Ridge, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew Bogue to 87 months in prison and five years of supervised release for possessing methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute in South Dakota. Coomes pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He was originally indicted on an additional charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Coomes conspired to distribute meth between fall 2005 and December 2006.
• Myron Night Shield, 23, St. Francis, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Battey to six months in prison and three years of supervised release for escape. Night Shield admitted to failing to return to Community Alternatives of the Black Hills, where he was in custody, after attending a local church last January.
• Shanon LeCompte, 32, Eagle Butte, pleaded guilty to larceny, admitting that she took cash, checks and deposit slips from the City of Eagle Butte between Aug. 22, 2007, and March 18, 2008. The total loss was between $1,000 and $10,000. The maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. LeCompte was released on bond pending sentencing Jan. 26.
• Jonathan Swift Hawk, 24, Pine Ridge, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and four counts of abusive sexual contact. Federal court documents show he is accused of having sexual contact with a child between age 12 and 16 at Wolf Creek between 2006 and 2008. He also is charged with having sexual contact with a child younger than 12 between 2002 and 2005 at Wolf Creek. The maximum penalty upon conviction of aggravated sexual abuse is life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Abusive sexual contact carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison with a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction. No trial date was set.
• Lawrence P. Bad Hand Jr., 31, St. Francis, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Sept. 16 death of another St. Francis man. Bad Hand is accused of driving in a "grossly negligent manner," causing the death of Austin Whirlwind Soldier. The maximum penalty upon conviction is eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine. No trial date was set.
• Frances Spotted War Bonnet, 20, St. Francis, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging her with distribution of a controlled substance. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the maximum penalty upon conviction is one year in custody and a fine between $1,000 and $100,000. Spotted War Bonnet was released on bond pending trial.

Editor's note: The U.S. District Court generally prosecutes felonies committed on reservations, and tribal courts handle misdemeanor crimes. Felonies that happen off the reservation are prosecuted in state/circuit court and are reported separately in the Journal. Some drug and firearms cases are also prosecuted in federal court.