ABERDEEN – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Kenel, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Dating Partner. The sentencing took place on August 3, 2026.
Delyle Ambrose Left Hand, age 55, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Left Hand was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024. He pleaded guilty on May 15, 2026.
On September 14, 2023, Left Hand quarreled with his girlfriend at his ranch in rural Kenel, South Dakota, in the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Left Hand punched, kicked, and bit her, resulting in extensive bruising to her face, shoulders and legs. Left Hand later failed to appear for his jury trial for this conduct in July 2025.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal Court as opposed to State Court.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.
Left Hand was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to serve his federal sentence.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — South Dakota — U.S. Department of Justice press release.