The Oglala Sioux Department of Public Safety and the FBI say a “person of interest” in a triple homicide last Wednesday in a home in Wounded Knee is in custody on unrelated charges with formal charges related to the homicides pending.
The name of the suspect was not included in a joint release, but earlier social media postings by tribal police identified him as Elijah West. West had been arrested at a Manderson home following a police search.
The social media postings also say West may have been involved in earlier shootings on Dec 6th and 10th as well as an assault on a police officer Dec 28.
Authorities say the victims in the Wounded Knee shooting were 38-year old ALma Garneaux, 38-year old Jamie Graham, and 39-year old Michael White Plume Sr. All were found dead in the home of gunshot wounds.
They say agents from the FBI office in Rapid City have been working with tribal police to develop significant leads on their person of interest, with the circumstances surrounding the homicides still under investigation.