SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A Sioux Falls man is behind bars charged with murder.
It’s the 8th homicide investigation in Sioux Falls this year.
In this latest shooting, police say it stems from an alleged incident of a man inappropriately touching a young child.
On Friday night, court documents say 30-year-old Dylan Farmer went to the Minnehaha County Jail and tried to turn himself in.
He told police he wanted to go to jail because he had shot a man in the face, because that man had touched a boy.
The police chief says it isn’t unusual to get false confessions, so police let Farmer go.
Around seven hours later, a woman had called police to have a man removed from her apartment on Bailey Avenue, which is northwest of Covell Lake, before she and her child returned home.
“So when officers arrived on scene they found a male dead with apparent gunshot wounds inside,” Lt. Aaron Nyberg said.
That man was identified as 30-year-old Casey Shawn Edward Shaffer, who also lived in that apartment.
Police say Farmer, Shaffer and the woman who called police are no strangers.
“They all knew each other,” Nyberg said.
It’s the 8th homicide investigation in Sioux Falls.
The chief of police says it’s a tragic trend he doesn’t want to see continue.
“Our aggravated assaults are down for the year, our stolen cars are down for the year, all of our major property crimes are down for the year, so we are a year by year trend by trend monitoring what happens and this year we have the unfortunate spot to be in where are homicides are trending up,” Chief Jon Thum said.
Chief Thum says while they continue to investigate other homicides, including this one, there’s a way the community can help turn this trend around.
“I think responsible gun ownership is not a political issue, I think leaving your gun unlocked in your car is a common sense issue, if that offends somebody I’m sorry, but it is what it is,” Thum said.
Farmer made his first court appearance Monday afternoon when bond was set at $1 million dollars cash only.
KELOLAND News looked into Shaffer’s criminal history.
He was not charged in connection with the latest allegations and is not on South Dakota’s sex offender registry.
However, Farmer was charged with rape in 2015.
The charge was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
