A Rapid City man who spent 5 years in federal prison for killing a man in Pine Ridge in 2012 now faces 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to killing a man in Rapid City three years ago.
43-year old Antoine Bissonette was originally charged with 2nd-degree murder in the March 2021 death of 44-year old Andrew Bear Robe, but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of 2nd-degree manslaughter.
He’d been scheduled for trial last week on the murder charge.
Bear Robe was found dead in the garage of a Rapid City home, but authorities have never released any details on his death.
Bissonette told the judge when entering his guilty plea that “I had no intent to kill him. I was only trying to protect myself which resulted in his untimely death.” His sentencing is scheduled for June 3.
In 2012, Bissonette had been charged with 2nd-degree murder for beating 40-year old Daniel Bad Milk to death with a baseball bat during a fight, but as in Bear Robe’s death took a plea deal for manslaughter.
Bissonette was released from prison in 2016 on supervised release but returned after violating his conditions multiple times. He was released from prison for good in April 2019 after failing to complete a drug treatment program.