Onida Man Convicted of Assaulting County Sheriff

ONIDA, S.D. (AP) — A jury in Sully County took less than half an hour to convict an Onida man of assaulting a law enforcement officer.

KCCR radio reports that Jimmy Wipf was accused of aggressively approaching Sheriff Bill Stahl with a knife in June while Stahl was investigating a stolen laptop case. Wipf backed down when the sheriff drew his gun.

Jurors on Thursday found Wipf guilty of simply assault of a law officer and petty theft. He faces up to three years behind bars when he's sentenced Jan. 27. He could have faced 11 years had jurors convicted him of an alternate count of aggravated assault.

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