PIERRE, South Dakota – Attorney-General Jason Ravnsborg of South Dakota’s attorney declared the innocence of three misdemeanors in a Pierre court on Friday afternoon in connection with the September 2020 accident that left a man dead. Ravnsborg was not present at the Hughes County court; his lawyer, Timothy J. Rensch, of Rapid City, presented the grounds during a brief hearing. Retired sixth circuit judge John L. Brown, who is presiding, said the case would resume in mid-May and asked lawyers to check their schedules.
Ravnsborg ran over and killed Joe Boever on the side of US 14, west of Highmore on September 12. He discovered Boever’s body the next morning at the side of the road and has insisted ever since that he did not know what he had achieved while driving 67 mph. Ravnsborg was accused of operating a vehicle using a mobile electronic device, illegal lane change and careless driving. The maximum penalty for each is 30 days in prison and a $ 500 fine.
“It looks like he’s going to request a jury trial,” said Nick Nemec, Boever’s cousin, who attended the brief hearing. “I do not know about that. It looks like they killed him. Nemec, who served as the family’s spokesman, said Boever’s widow, Jenny, was present, along with his mother Dorothy Boever and other relatives. Scott Heidepriem, a former state legislator and Democratic candidate for governor in 2010, was also present. He is one of two lawyers representing Jenny Boever in a planned civil case against the attorney general.
Ravnsborg, 44, refused to resign, despite requests from Governor Kristi Noem and lawmakers to do so.