First of 4 defendants pleads guilty to attempted murder in Lincoln County v. Republic of Mitchell

CANTON, SD — A 24-year-old Sioux Falls man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after he and three others were involved in an April shooting that left a bullet in the brain of another man.

During a change of plea hearing at the Lincoln County courthouse on Monday, October 28, Antonio Hacker pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge. He previously pleaded not guilty in June.

Hacker is one of four defendants facing attempted murder charges in the April shooting of then-24-year-old Dylan Jaimes. The other two defendants — Victor Rios and Danai Cha — have pleaded not guilty and will face a jury trial in December.

The fourth defendant, Rakeem Fitzgerald, is a Pennsylvania native and has not yet been arrested, according to court records.

The charges were uncovered around 10 p.m. on April 30, when a passerby found a Pontiac G6 in the ditch along 469th Street (Tea-Ellis Road) in rural Sioux Falls, roughly a quarter-mile south of the intersection with 57th Street .

The civilian called 911, assuming the vehicle had been involved in an accident, but learned Jaimes had been shot in the head. Court documents say Jaimes suffered a bullet to the brain, but remained conscious and was able to speak with authorities at a Sioux Falls hospital.

Jaimes initially told investigators that he was followed by a Toyota Corolla before he was shot by three masked men, but a teenager in Jaimes’ car told police that Jamies began following the Corolla after its occupants stole marijuana.

Prosecutors say the two vehicles followed each other through Sioux Falls, but Jaimes abandoned pursuit along 57th Street and turned south on 269th Street to avoid the Corolla.

Somehow the Corolla allegedly trailed Jaimes’ G6 in 269th place. The boy allegedly told police the Corolla passed the G6 and stopped in the road. The boy said Rios got out of the vehicle as it stopped and shot Jaimes through the windshield.

The next morning, troopers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol discovered the Corolla disabled on the Interstate and eventually tracked it to Hacker. During an interview at the Sioux Falls Walmart, Hacker denied involvement in the shooting.

Prosecutors say cellphone data collected from the four suspects’ phones placed each of them near where Jamies was allegedly robbed, as well as where he was shot. Surveillance video also confirmed the men’s involvement.

After search warrants were obtained, Rios, Hacker, and Cha were taken to jail. Fitzgerald has not yet been arrested.

The hacker faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years after pleading guilty. He will be sentenced on December 9.

Hunter, a South Dakota native, joined Forum Communications in June 2021 as a Mitchell (SD) Republic correspondent and currently works as a digital reporter for Forum News Service.