A 2014 photo of the Corn Creek Braves, a baseball team on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The Gonzalez family blames members of the team for an attack on two teens and two adults on July 13, 2015. Photo from Facebook
Rapid City boys attacked on Rosebud Reservation
By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Staff Writer NORRIS –– On the evening of Saturday, June 13, four brothers from Rapid City were allegedly ganged in Norris during a softball tournament and beaten with bats, knives, and fists and stomped as they were surrounded by nearly 50 people. Many of those accused of the alleged attack in Norris, on the Rosebud Reservation, were teammates of a softball team called the Corn Creek Braves, according to their father Leonard Gonzalez Sr. Native Sun News interviewed the Gonzalez brothers, including their father Leonard, about the alleged assault. The alleged victims of the assault who received physical injuries and/or required medical attention after the gang-style beating were Angel Gonzalez, 24, Lorenzo Gonzalez., 20, Leo Gonzalez, 17, and Gabriel Gonzalez, 14. Throughout the afternoon of June 13, several individuals were gathered and drinking alcohol in different areas of a cluster housing in Norris; including Leonard Gonzalez Sr. and his two older sons Lorenzo and Angel. According to Gabriel, 14, he was confronted by Albert Witt Jr., an adult, who accused Gabriel of “hitting on his girlfriend.” The woman in question is in her 30’s according the Gonzalez family. At this time, Angel stood in between Witt and his younger brother, saying, “Leave him alone. He’s too young to be doing that.” He was allegedly told by Witt, “Well, keep him away from my girlfriend.” After trying to use the phone to call their father, who was several houses down from where the alleged assault took place, from Fred Witt’s house, the boys were told, “Get the hell out of my house,” by Fred Witt. Soon after this initial confrontation is when the alleged gang-style assault began. After being turned down for using the phone, several people came from across the street and nearby to confront the four brothers. The first to be assaulted were the two older Gonzalez brothers who were immediately attacked and hit with bats, fists and kicked as they tried to protect themselves and each other. Once their father had been notified of his sons’ alleged gang beating happening, Leonard Sr., rushed into the crowd and grabbed a bat lying on the ground. Leonard Sr. said he noticed his “boys lying there, side by side, like they had been dragged into that position, so the others could celebrate.” “I grabbed the bat laying there and started yelling at them. ‘Hey who did this to my boys?’ I started to tell them if you want to gang my boys with bats, Come on!” he told Native Sun News. He attacked a nearby car with the bat breaking out windows. He was afraid this car was going to pick up his boys and take them out to the back roads and kill them, according to Leonard Sr. Angel, 24, was flown to Regional Hospital in Rapid City after spending the night at the Rosebud Indian Health Service Hospital. According to Angel, he received very little medical attention and it was his younger brother Gabriel who bandaged an open wound on his arm. Angel, after being transported to Rapid City, received care for a broken rib, a collapsed lung, and a shattered elbow (Gabriel bandaged this arm for him in Rosebud Hospital). Angel believes he, “very well could have died,” because IHS in Rosebud failed to properly treat him. He also had a black eye and one week later, during a check-up at Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, he was still bleeding in his right ear. Angel no longer has full capacity use of his injured arm. Lorenzo, 20, had a nearly two-inch wide gash on the top of his head, from the alleged assault with a bat which required several staples and bruising and swelling on his hand. These were defensive wounds according to his brothers who seen him trying to protect himself. Leo, 17, had a scraped knee, wrist abrasions, and bruising under his arm. He claims the bruising on his arm was an officer-inflicted injury. Gabriel, 14, according to his Regional Hospital release report, was diagnosed and treated for an “alleged assault to the face, back, extremities from a baseball bat... acute head injury prolonged loss of consciousness, probable concussion, acute cervical strain, stab wound… right hand contusions and abrasions… blunt abdominal trauma.” Gabriel is a minor child. None of the alleged attackers required medical attention that day, according to the elder Gonzalez. After the Gonzalez brothers were allegedly assaulted, Rosebud Sioux Tribal police officer Roxy Witt Carter was the first officer on scene. The only persons arrested for this incident, according to the Gonzalez family, were Leonard Sr. and Leo. According to Leonard Sr., he was arrested and charged with “inciting a riot.” He posted a $100 bond the following morning and had his pick-up truck towed; to which he paid $186.16 for a towing fee to Provencial Towing Company. He provided NSN with receipts of these payments. Leo, 17, was taken to the juvenile detention facility and charged with “gangbanging and going on private property,” according to his statement to NSN. All charges against father and son were subsequently dropped, according to Leonard. Native Sun News was given a list of witnesses, who are reluctant to publicly come forward about the alleged gang-style assault for fear of retaliation and familial ties to the accused. The witness have given a list of names of those they visually saw assaulting the four brothers. Included on the list of persons responsible for the alleged assault are: Elgin Brown Jr., Cory Black Bear, Tyler Black Bear, Dakota Black Bear, Alli Randall, Richard Larvie Jr., Albert Witt Jr., Delbert Black Bear Sr., Charles Black Bear, Kyle Black Bear, Richie Horton, Brett Iyotte, Shawn Mato Sapa, and Colin Muggins. Since the alleged assault, the Gonzalez brothers were interviewed by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent out of Pierre, but have not heard anything regarding charges being filed or investigation updates. After doing some investigation of her own, Olivia Gonzalez, aunt to the Gonzalez brothers and a military woman, assisted Leonard Gonzalez in filing a formal letter to the National Guard in Rapid City after seeing Kyle Black Bear in a National Guard uniform on Facebook. In the complaint letter, Leonard Gonzalez named Kyle Black Bear as a participant in the alleged assault against his minor son. The letter addressed to Chief Warrant Officer Five Lonny E. Hofer of the SD Army National Guard noted Article 128 of the Uniformed Code Military Justice (UCMJ) which makes an “Assault consummated by a battery upon a child under 16 years” prohibited and punishable under the UCMJ. The Gonzalez family wants justice. They feel they were victims of a vicious assault which left one of them nearly dead. They also describe being victimized by a police agency which is filled with corruption, according to their story. They claim the arresting officer and supervising officer are related to the accused. With any crime, there is a presumption of innocence; in that one is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. (Contact Richie Richards at staffwriter@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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