Western South Dakota lawmaker takes plea deal to drop road-damage charge from felony to misdemeanor

A South Dakota Republican state lawmaker pleaded no contest Friday to a misdemeanor for damaging a road in Butte County in a case that began with a felony charge.

Rep. Travis Ismay, 49, of Newell, was charged in early June for felony intentional damage to a highway or bridge, a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.

On Friday, Ismay was sentenced to pay $1,750 in restitution and $78 in court costs after entering a plea of “nolo contendere” to a misdemeanor charge of destruction of a highway. Such a plea allows defendants to admit that the state has enough evidence to prove they’ve committed a crime without formally admitting guilt. 

The lesser charge was filed earlier this month by Butte County State’s Attorney Brian Knox “pursuant to the plea agreement of the parties.” 

South Dakota lawmaker charged with felony for allegedly damaging public road on purpose

Knox was appointed this summer to replace Timothy Barnaud, who’d filed the felony charge against Ismay before being appointed to a magistrate judge position. Barnaud did not preside over Ismay’s case.            

The felony indictment did not include details on the road damage, nor on the location of the highway in question. The same is true of the misdemeanor complaint.

Late Friday afternoon, Knox sent a written statement, which he said had been approved by Ismay and his Rapid City attorney, Tim Rensch.

It said that Ismay had graded a road outside his home, and that Ismay “believed his actions were justified due to what he described as the unfavorable conditions of the road.”

“Mr. Ismay took action to improve the roadway, not destroy the roadway,” the statement said.

Even so, Butte County was “required to send highway workers to properly fix the roadway, following reports that it was unsafe to travel due to Mr. Ismay’s actions.”

“Butte County would remind all that taking roadway construction or upkeep into your own hands is not acceptable,” the statement said.

Ismay will repay the county for the cost of redoing the work, the statement said, to “make the county whole,” and the statement said the felony was dropped in exchange for his pledge to do so.

In a phone call Friday with South Dakota Searchlight, Ismay said he was “really impressed” with the “common sense way” Knox approached the case.

The incident occurred three days after Ismay won his primary contest in the June 2 election. He is unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election. 

Rep. Scott Odenbach, the majority leader for the state House of Representatives, said Friday that a plea to a class 2 misdemeanor has “no repercussions that I know of” for a member of the chamber.

Election case unresolved for state senator

Felony charges are still pending in Minnehaha County, meanwhile, for another Republican state lawmaker, Sen. Tom Pischke of Dell Rapids.

Pischke faces two felony counts for allegedly filing false or forged election-related documents. Prosecutors in Sioux Falls allege he signed and mailed 16 applications for precinct committeeman and committeewoman to the Minnehaha County Auditor’s Office, aiming to get those candidates listed on the June 2 primary ballot without their knowledge.

South Dakota state senator facing election-related criminal charges ends his reelection campaign

Under state law, applications for those positions needn’t be notarized, and no signatures from supporters are needed to qualify for the ballot.

At least 20% of precinct committee members must be present at Minnehaha County Republican Party meetings to conduct official business. The number of committee members fluctuates, and could have swollen in Minnehaha County if the unaware candidates noted in Pischke’s case had been elected during the primary.

When charges against Pischke were filed, the Minnehaha County party chairman told South Dakota Searchlight the lawmaker’s alleged behavior was likely meant to undermine the chairman’s ability to lead the party by making it more difficult to have a quorum at party meetings. 

Pischke has pleaded not guilty. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Aug. 17, and is scheduled be arraigned on the charges Sept. 15

County chooses third-place primary finisher to replace Pischke

On July 28, Pischke abandoned his reelection campaign. He said in a written statement that he’s always prided himself on “complete transparency,” but that he “would not have been able to maintain that standard during the upcoming November election.”

Recently, the Republican Party chose Bart Sample, of Flandreau, to replace Pischke on the ballot for his district, which includes northern Minnehaha County and all of Moody County. Sample finished third in a three-way primary race on June 2 for two Republican nominations for the district state’s representative seats. 

Sample will face Brian Breitling, an independent candidate and former Republican lawmaker, in the Nov. 3 general election.