Lengthy Prison Term For Man Who Shot At Construction Workers Near Rapid City

     A Rapid City man convicted in March of shooting at construction workers in the Rapid City area last year has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.  

       45-year old Carl Relf had 10 years of the sentence suspended and was given credit for 472 days already served, but says he will appeal the sentence as too harsh. Together, the charges carried a maximum of 50 years.

       A jury convicted Relf on 7 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting at workers in the area of Hwy 79 and Spring Creek Road in June 2022. 

      Relf had argued he fired at the workers because he thought a girl was being trafficked there, and because he was drunk and on drugs at the time. None of his shots hit anyone.

      At sentencing, Relf’s attorney said he believed Relf could be rehabilitated and returned to society and his family while under close supervision. 

       Prosecutors called Relf a dangerous person and that the state and community were better off without him. Victim statements supported a long sentence, with one asking for the maximum and another saying anything under 50 years would be “a disappointment.”

     Judge Jane Wipf Pfeifle called it “an extraordinarily dangerous case,” and said that while Relf didn’t hit anyone, the “mental toll from this random act of violence had taken on the victims” was unimaginable.

      Judge Wipf Pfeifle pointed to Relf’s extensive criminal record and asked rhetorically that he truly believed someone was being trafficked, why didn’t he go to the police?”