SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — Some of the biggest crime stories of 2024 still hold South Dakotans’ attention as the page turns to 2025. One was a high speed chase on Highway 34 in eastern South Dakota in February in which Ken Prorok, a chief deputy with the Moody County Sheriff’s Office, lost his life in the line of duty.
“He did a tremendous job at the job he did and was a great mentor to all of us, me included, even though I was his boss,” Moody County Sheriff Troy Wellman said in June. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him.”
Joseph Hoek of Sioux Falls stands accused of purposefully swerving and hitting Prorok. Hoek has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge; a jury trial is scheduled for May 2025.
The small community of Centerville, S.D. saw a former mayor accused of a triple murder in May 2024.
“We were watching TV when we heard one gunshot,” Keira Wertman, who lived near the scene, said in May. “We came out to smoke a cigarette and saw a bunch of cops outside, and one of the people walking back that were taken into custody.”
That person was Jay Ostrem, who has also served as a deputy with the Turner County Sheriff’s Office. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to be back in court at the end of January 2025.
Sioux Falls was rocked by a triple homicide in 2024, too; three people who were gathered around a backyard fire pit lost their lives in the southeastern part of the city in June. Police said the last time there were three or more victims in a Sioux Falls homicide was more than half a century ago, back in 1973.
“Any of the neighbors out there would probably tell you we were out there until, into the evening hours on Saturday processing the scene,” Sioux Falls Police Department Lt. Aaron Nyberg said in June.
Police never explained how suspect Justin Rackley knew the alleged victims; he’s pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to court in summer 2025.
July brought what police called a “hostage situation” to a gas station in central Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum said an officer came under gunfire while taking a break; in the end, no hostages or officers were hurt after a SWAT team member fatally shot the suspect with a sniper rifle. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley declared the shooting justified.
“Obviously, we seek peaceful resolutions, but oftentimes we’re forced to act on what takes place in front of us,” Thum said in July.
The death of an infant, whose body was discovered in August at a Sioux Falls recycling center, prompted a rush of support for a little boy who came to be named Baby Gabriel James Doe. As of the last day of 2024, police told KELOLAND News the case was still an open investigation.
“The main thing is trying to identify who the baby belonged to, and we haven’t been able to do that at this point,” Sioux Falls Police Department spokesperson Sam Clemens said Tuesday.
More than 300 people either attended or watched Baby Gabriel’s funeral online, and cards came in from all over the country.
“It’s been great knowing that the community has really reached out to us and knowing that so many people loved him without knowing him,” funeral director Whitney Delaney said.
2024 brought 16 homicides in Sioux Falls, which stands as a record dating back to at least the early 1970s.
“We understand that we’re big enough but also small enough that a couple big incidents will have a big impact on numbers,” Thum said in November.
Among these homicide cases is that of Jimmie Ledbetter, who is accused of killing his wife in October. She had recently filed for divorce; Ledbetter has pleaded not guilty. KELOLAND News spoke with him back in 2018 for a story about domestic violence and a meeting he organized on the topic.
“I would like to see the courts be stiffer when you see the abuse happen,” Ledbetter said in 2018. “Women are losing their faith with the courts.”
Family of the woman Ledbetter is accused of killing told KELOLAND News they are remembering her as Angie Scholl.
