Fort Thompson man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter

FORT THOMPSON, S.D. (AP) - A Fort Thompson man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for killing a man during a fight last spring.

Authorities say Zachery Ziegler got into a fight with Thomas Witt after entering a residence on the Crow Creek Reservation uninvited and drunk on May 23 and being asked to leave.

Ziegler was accused of punching Witt unconscious and then kicking him. Witt was pronounced dead at a Chamberlain hospital later that day. The cause of death was listed as a traumatic brain injury.

The Daily Republic reports Ziegler recently pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors. He faces up to eight years in prison. Sentencing wasn’t immediately scheduled.

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Information from: The Daily Republic, http://www.mitchellrepublic.com