JUNE 14, 2023:
Two men have been sentenced to prison after earlier pleading guilty to charges connected to shots being fired at law enforcement and a high-speed chase that ended in Madison last July.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says 40 year old James Lanpher, Jr., of Sioux Falls, and 45 year old Bonner Juel of Harrisburg, were sentenced today (June 14, 2023) in Lake County Circuit Court in Madison.
Lanpher, Jr. earlier had pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and has signed an admission to being a habitual offender. He was sentenced to life in prison on each count with the sentences to be served concurrently.
Juel earlier had pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and one count of ingestion of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with five years suspended, on the aggravated assault charge and was sentenced to five years in prison, all suspended, on the ingestion charge. Those sentences will be served consecutively.
The incident occurred on July 14, 2022, when the South Dakota Highway Patrol attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Lanpher, Jr. in Minnehaha County. Juel was the passenger. The vehicle did not stop, so the pursuit began, traveling through Colman and ending in Madison. During the pursuit, Lanpher, Jr. fired a rifle at law enforcement. Lanpher, Jr. was later arrested after a foot pursuit.
Jackley says this was a dangerous incident for the law enforcement officers responding to the call, and thankfully, no one was injured. He says this is another example of the dangerous situations that law enforcement officers face while protecting the rest of us.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Madison Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Moody County Sheriff’s Office were part of the pursuit and investigation.
Both defendants were prosecuted by the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Moody County State’s Attorney’s Office.
James Lanpher, Jr., Lake County Jail booking photo.
Photo courtesy of KJAM, Madison.
Bonner Juel Lake County Jail booking photo.
Photo courtesy of KJAM, Madison.
JULY 25, 2022:
South Dakota Attorney General Mark Vargo and Lake County State’s Attorney Wendy Kloeppner say the two suspects arrested July 14, 2022, in connection with a high-speed pursuit and officer involved shooting have now been indicted on four different counts, including two counts each of Attempted First-Degree Murder.
James Joseph Lanpher, Jr., 40 years old from Sioux Falls, and Bonner Raymond Juel, 45, from Harrisburg, face alternate counts of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer for each attempted murder count. Each defendant also has been charged with two counts of commission of a felony while armed with a firearm. Habitual offender charges also have been filed against each man.
The incident took place July 14, 2022, in Lake, Minnehaha and Moody Counties with the incident ending in Madison. There were no injuries.
A Lake County grand jury issued the indictments last week (July 19, 2022).
The defendants remain in the Lake County Jail in Madison. The state Division of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation into the incident.
Bond has been raised to $100,000 for each suspect.
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JULY 21, 2022:
Additional charges have been filed and bond has been increased for the two men involved in the high speed pursuit and shooting incident that ended in the city of Madison one week ago (July 14, 2022).
40-year-old James Lanpher, Jr., of Sioux Falls and 45-year-old Bonner Juel of Harrisburg both appeared in Lake County Magistrate Court yesterday (July 20, 2022).
State’s Attorney Wendy Kloeppner filed additional complaints against both men charging them with Attempted First Degree Murder or, in the alternative, Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, along with two counts of Commission of a Felony While Armed with a Firearm. All of the charges are Class Two felonies, which each carry maximum penalties of 25 years in the state penitentiary and up to a $50-thousand fine.
Kloeppner also asked the Magistrate Judge to increase bond for each of the two men. She says Lanpher has a long criminal history and is currently on parole for Aggravated Assault against a Law Enforcement Officer. He was the driver of the vehicle that led authorities on the pursuit with speeds of up to 100mph and fired at least eight rounds from either an automatic or semi-automatic rifle at law enforcement. Kloeppner said that Lanpher also fired shots in downtown Madison. She said Lanpher is a flight risk and asked that he be held on “no bond”. Kloeppner made similar comments when asking for bond to be increased for Juel, who was a passenger in the vehicle during the pursuit. In both cases, Judge Bob Pesall ordered bond be increased to $100-thousand cash.
Preliminary hearings for Lanpher and Juel were set for August 3, but Kloeppner says the two cases will go before a Lake County Grand Jury, so a preliminary hearing may not be necessary if an indictment is issued.
The pursuit started last Thursday afternoon when law enforcement attempted to stop Lanpher’s vehicle in Minnehaha County because he was believed to be transporting a large amount of methamphetamine from Minnesota to South Dakota. Court documents say Lanpher’s vehicle eluded officers and he traveled northbound in the southbound lane of Interstate-29 at a high rate of speed, shooting at officers out of the vehicle’s window. The vehicle drove through Colman and west on Highway 34 into the city of Madison before coming to a stop at the intersection of Southwest 1st Street and Ramm Heights. Lanpher ran from the vehicle while shooting at officers, and they returned fire. He was later taken into custody, while Juel was removed from the vehicle and arrested.
(News partner KJAM contributed to this story.)
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JULY 16, 2022:
South Dakota Attorney General Mark Vargo and Lake County State’s Attorney Wendy Kloeppner say two men were charged Friday (July 15, 2022) in connection with the high-speed pursuit and officer involved shooting that took place Thursday in Lake, Minnehaha and Moody Counties.
James Joseph Lanpher, Jr., the driver, 40 years old from Sioux Falls, and Bonner Raymond Juel, the passenger, 45, from Harrisburg, will be charged with two counts each of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer. More charges are under investigation. Lanpher, Jr. is currently on parole for Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer and possession of a controlled substance. Juel is currently on probation for Possession of a Controlled Substance.
The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office, is in charge of the investigation.
There were no injuries that resulted from the pursuit or the officer involved shooting.
Both men are currently in the Lake County Jail in Madison. Bond has been set at $50,000 cash only for each suspect. Both men are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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JULY 15, 2022, UPDATE:
Court documents filed in Lake County identify the two men arrested Thursday afternoon (July 14, 2022) after a high speed pursuit with shots fired that started in Minnehaha County and ended in the City of Madison.
40-year-old James Lanpher, Jr. of Sioux Falls and 45-year-old Bonner Juel of Harrisburg are being held in the Lake County Jail on 50-thousand dollars cash bond after their arrest Thursday.
According to a Probable Cause Statement filed with the court by an officer with the state Division of Criminal Investigation, the incident started in Minnehaha County, where the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force had information that Lanpher was believed to be transporting a large amount of methamphetamine from Minnesota to South Dakota. The Task Force requested that the South Dakota Highway Patrol conduct a traffic stop of the Chrysler 300 registered to Lanpher. Court documents state that when the Highway Patrol attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Lanpher’s vehicle, the vehicle did not stop and a pursuit began just before 2:10 Thursday afternoon. Law enforcement said at several times that the suspect was shooting out of the window at them with a rifle. The vehicle continued to elude and entered Interstate-29 going northbound in the southbound lane. The Chrysler continued on the interstate, taking the Madison exit and then traveling west at a high rate of speed. The suspect drove through Colman and back to Highway 34, where he continued west at a high rate of speed and entered the city of Madison, continuing to shoot at law enforcement. According to court documents, while in the city, Lanpher attempted to car jack a citizen at gunpoint, but the citizen was able to get away. The vehicle came to a stop at the intersection of Southwest 1st Street and Ramm Heights in Madison. Just before 2:40 Thursday afternoon, law enforcement said that Lanpher ran from his vehicle while shooting at them and they returned fire. He ran through houses in the area, and attempted to gain entry into one of the residences on Ramm Heights, but the homeowner was able to keep him from getting in and he ran away. Court documents indicate the passenger in the vehicle, Bonner Juel, was removed from the vehicle and detained, and Lanpher was taken into custody just after 2:45 Thursday. The documents state that Juel indicated that a blue box and a gun were thrown out of the vehicle in the Colman area.
Both Lanpher and Juel are being charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault against a Law Enforcement Officer, Class Two felonies. Court documents indicate that Lanpher is on parole for aggravated assault on law enforcement and possession of a controlled substance, and that Juel is on probation for a controlled substance.
Lake County Sheriff Tim Walburg said that no one was injured in the incident.
Photo courtesy of KJAM, Madison.
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JULY 15, 2022:
Local and state law enforcement are investigating a high speed vehicle chase with shots fired that started in Minnehaha County and ended in Madison, SD, yesterday afternoon (July 14, 2022).
Lake County Sheriff Tim Walburg says the incident happened just before 3pm.
Walburg says fortunately no one was injured in the high speed chase or while shots were being fired.
Walburg says the two suspects are currently being held in the Lake County Jail.
Walburg says this is an ongoing investigation involving several counties and state agencies.
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