Man given 13-year sentence in 2019 death

RAPID CITY—In March of 2019, Dale EcofFey. Sr., 55, Pine Ridge, died of in­juries received from a beat­ing by Benjamin Wendell Smoke, 63, Manderson. Smoke was convicted of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and sentenced to eight years. He was also sentenced to five years for failing to register as a sex of­fender, sentences to run con­secutively. Ecoffey’s family was on hand for the federal sentencing and had a sugges­tion for Judge Karen Schrei­er.

“(Smoke) gets to sleep and wake up, my father is sleep­ing and can’t wake up any­more,” Dale Ecoffey, Jr., said.

Ecoffey, found by his youngest son, was in the pas­senger seat of a car outside his own home, March 18, 2019. An FBI agent, from a signed affidavit, reported Ecoffey was found with a swollen, bruised and bloody face and eye, and the back of his head had cuts and blood. A further autopsy found Ecoffey sustained a broken throat and rib bones, dying from asphyxiation.

According to a factual basis statement, Smoke assaulted Ecoffey in the face and torso with his hands, knocked him to the floor then proceeded to kick him. Smoke then lifted Ecoffey from the floor and slammed his head into the corner of a wall, which lacer­ated the back of his head and caused a serious bodily in­jury. Ecoffey then bled from his head and was unable to walk.

The statement continues that Smoke continued to strike Ecoffey, then picked him up and placed him in his Cadillac Escalade. The as­sistant US Attorney Megan Poppen said Smoke attempt­ed to hide evidence by wiping down the steering wheel of a vehicle, destroyed Ecoffey’s phone as his son repeatedly called him, destroyed a blan­ket or towel used by Ecoffey along with his headband and jacket. She said Smoke had no regard for Ecoffey’s per­son.

Poppen said due to the na­ture of the case and Smoke’s previous criminal history, being convicted of first-de­gree rape in Pennington County, she requested the 15 year sentence as well.

Defense attorney Thom­as Diggins requested a five-year sentence for Smoke in a medical facility. He said that Smoke has several medical ailments, including kidney cancer and cirrhosis of the liver. He also had said, that the injuries Smoke inflicted on Ecoffey didn’t result in the man’s death, and there were other potential contrib­utors.

Three others in this case are also associated, with Nancy Star Comes Out and Cecelia Titus both have cases closed dating back to November 2021, and Angie Standing Soldier, who Diggins said assaulted Smoke with a met­al bar and directed Smoke to move Ecoffey’s body is charged with accessory after the fact, tampering with evi­dence and false statement.

Diggins also said Smoke was intoxicated at the time and did leave Ecoffey in a place where he could be found. Schreier asked why he didn’t take Ecoffey to the emergency room. Schreier also said that many of the crimes Smoke had previous­ly been involved with includ­ed alcohol and the man is at an age where if he wanted to change, he’d be able to make it happen. She said Smoke can either change or continue to get in trouble and put other lives at risk. Lastly, Schreier said this is one of the most abusive cases she’s seen in a long time.

(Contact Joe Budd at sales2@ nativesunnews.today)

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