Man given nearly 32 years in prison in fatal ax attack

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – A federal judge has sentenced a Pine Ridge man to nearly 32 years in prison for randomly killing a man with an ax and setting fire to the mobile home where the victim was sleeping.

Judge Jeffrey Viken told 19-year-old Emery Arapahoe in court Tuesday that he has rarely seen the level of violence the defendant displayed in his many years on the bench and as an attorney.

Arapahoe was sentenced after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for killing 24-year-old Raymond Waters Jr., and to arson for setting the trailer on fire in October 2017 in Allen.

As part of a plea deal, charges of first-degree burglary and larceny were dropped as well as charges in two assault cases.

AP-WF-09-18-19 1119GMT