A Wanblee man who robbed a credit union office on the Pine Ridge Reservation 19 months ago, then took a plea bargain that dropped all charges except Discharge of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence has been sentenced.
68-year old Francis White Lance pled guilty in March and was sentenced last week to 10-years in federal prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release.
White Lance was armed with a semi-automatic rifle when he entered the Lakota Federal Credit Union in Kyle on Nov 7, 2022.
He fired one round over the head of one of the tellers before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money. The stolen cash was recovered by the FBI when he was arrested.
In handing down the sentence, Federal District Judge Karen Schreier blasted both what she called the “horrible message” White Lance’s actions sent to the community and the damage he inflicted by robbing the credit union.