Pennington County Jail inmate dies

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - A Wounded Knee man being held in Pennington County Jail on a murder charge, has died.

Eugene High Hawk, 59 of Rapid City was pronounced dead at Monument Hospital after being found unresponsive in the jail about noon, Sunday, March 12.

Jail medical and corrections personnel performed resuscitation efforts and High Hawk was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a release from the Pennington County Sheriff’s office.

An autopsy was performed Monday and the preliminary diagnosis indicates High Hawk died of natural. However, final autopsy results are pending.

The Division of Criminal Investigation is conducting an investigation into the death.

High Hawk was a federal detainee who was brought to the Pennington County Jail by the U.S. Marshals Service on July 11, 2022. He was charged, along with his son, 25-year-old Spencer High Hawk, with beating to death 18-year-old Dominick Jealous of Him, of Wounded Knee. High Hawk was also charged with beating a male juvenile with a baseball bat at the same time as the murder.