PIERRE. (KCCR) — A Dupree man has been sentenced in federal court to 16 years in federal prison on a second degree murder charge. U-S Attorney Alison Ramsdell says 50 year-old Stuart Cochran was sentenced Wednesday to the 16 years and four years of probation upon his release. Cochran was indicted on the charge by a federal grand jury in July of 2022. He pleaded guilty in July. Ramsdell says Cochran was driving to Dupree on the morning of June 22nd of 2022 when he noticed a man he carried a grudge against walking along U-S Highway 212 near Eagle Butte. The grudge Cochran and the victim had developed over previous altercations. Cochran pulled along side the man. An argument started when Cochran pulled out a pistol and tried to shoot the victim. The gun failed to fire the first time. Cochran cycled the pistol and fired a second time, shooting the victim in the face, killing him. Cochran was placed in the custody of the U-S Marshal’s Service to begin his sentence.
