RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Escape from Custody. The sentencing took place on March 23, 2026.
Lawrence Oakie, 44, was sentenced to one year in federal prison and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Oakie was indicted for Escape from Custody by a federal grand jury in May 2025. He pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025.
In May 2025, Oakie left the Community Alternatives of the Black Hills, where he was finishing the remainder of his federal prison sentence, without permission and did not return. Oakie was arrested after law enforcement located him at an apartment complex in Rapid City after responding to a call for service related.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Oakie was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — South Dakota — U.S. Department of Justice press release.