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Thread: Mitch Caffee Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2021 SD Slaying of 90-Year-Old Lorraine Redmann

  1. #1
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    Mitch Caffee Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2021 SD Slaying of 90-Year-Old Lorraine Redmann

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    Caffee


    Man arrested on murder charges following standoff

    by: Marissa Lute

    WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. (KELO) — Authorities have more information on a standoff in Wessington Springs that happened over the weekend.

    The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation says police were called to a house for reports a hostage situation following an alleged shooting Sunday morning.

    Multiple agencies responded to the home, including the Jerauld County Sheriff’s Office, Huron Police, Sanborn County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota DCI and the highway patrol.

    Authorities say a woman was safely let go from the residence. The suspect, Mitch Caffee, of Wessington Springs, peacefully surrendered himself.

    Caffee was arrested on charges for first degree murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping and burglary. The DCI says Caffee remains in custody on a $1 million cash-only bond.

    The South Dakota DCI and the sheriff’s office are still investigating.

    https://www.keloland.com/news/local-...wing-standoff/
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    Wessington Springs murder suspect pleads not guilty, jury trial scheduled

    Caffee pleaded not guilty to eight felonies, but did not enter a plea to 17 other charges

    Written By: Hunter Dunteman

    WESSINGTON SPRINGS — A Wessington Springs man accused of murdering his wife’s grandmother in an October shooting has pleaded not guilty to eight felony charges.

    Mitch Caffee, 38, appeared in a Jerauld County courtroom Thursday morning, entering a not guilty plea to charges including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of commission of a felony with a firearm, and one count each of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, aggravated domestic assault and violation of a protection order.

    Each first-degree murder charge is a Class A felony — the most severe category — and carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty.

    Prosecutors indicated that the state has not yet decided whether it intends to pursue the death penalty, but clarified the state will only seek death on one of Caffee’s Class A felonies. If he were to be convicted on both counts, the state will not seek two death sentences.

    If the state decides not to pursue the death penalty on either Class A felony, South Dakota law dictates the minimum sentence upon conviction is life in the state penitentiary.

    The court has ordered a jury trial to begin on Aug. 4, 2022. Prosecutors have until Feb. 23, 2022, to decide whether they intend to pursue the death penalty.

    An individual can only be sentenced to death after a jury first convicts them of a crime, then holds a second vote on whether to impose capital punishment.

    In reading Caffee his rights, a Jerauld County judge informed Caffee that, if convicted on the first-degree murder charge, one juror declining to impose the death penalty would result in an automatic life sentence.

    Caffee did not enter a plea to 17 other charges, including three counts of murder, two counts of manslaughter, five counts of burglary and more — likely indicating an impending plea agreement.

    No personal statements were made by Caffee at Thursday’s hearing.

    The charges stem from an October shooting in the 400 block of West Main Street in Wessington Springs, where Caffee is accused of breaking down a door at a residence to confront his wife.

    Days before the confrontation, Caffee had been arrested for domestic assault — though those charges were later dismissed.

    While at the residence, police say his wife’s grandmother had attempted to access a phone, an action Caffee responded to by allegedly shooting her dead.

    Caffee is no stranger to the state’s legal system — in March 2016, he was indicted on 11 counts of rape of a minor and four counts of sexual contact with a child under 16. He was acquitted on all counts in a jury trial seven months later.

    In his most recent set of charges, Caffee is represented by Sen. David Wheeler (R-Huron) and Jeffrey Banks, both of Huron to represent him in his murder case proceedings.

    Wheeler, a first-term state senator representing parts of Beadle and Kingsbury Counties, serves on the South Dakota Senate’s Government Operations and Audit Committee — which is actively investigating accusations of nepotism lodged against Gov. Kristi Noem — and the Adult-Use Marijuana Study Subcommittee. He also runs a private practice law firm based in Huron.

    Banks, a former Beadle County deputy state’s attorney and former city attorney for Huron, serves as a partner at Blue, Haeder and Banks Law in Huron. His firm’s website says Banks specializes in estate, business and family law.

    Caffee is currently being held in the Beadle County Jail with no possibility of bond. Any future court appearances preceding a jury trial have yet to be scheduled.

    https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/new...rial-scheduled
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Edited:

    Death penalty decision reached for Caffee, but deadline for Lange extended pending psych evaluation

    By Hunter Dunteman
    The Daily Republic

    Feb. 25—WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. / SCOTLAND, S.D. — Prosecutors in the murder case against Mitch Caffee have elected not to pursue the death penalty.

    Mitch Caffee, 39, of Wessington Springs, is facing 25 felony counts, including first-degree murder, stemming from an October shooting that left one dead.

    First-degree murder, defined by state statute as either premeditated or during an attempt of robbery or burglary (among other felony offenses), is a Class A felony, punishable by a mandatory minimum of life in prison or death.

    The death penalty can only be pursued in cases including a first-degree murder charge, which is the state's highest crime.

    Prosecutors are required to inform the defense and the court of their intent to pursue or not to pursue the death penalty.

    According to court documents filed Feb. 23, prosecutors have elected not to pursue the death penalty in Caffee's case. The decision came from Deputy Attorney General Brent Kempema.

    Kempema did not respond to a request for comment, but Chief of Staff of the Office of the Attorney General Tim Bormann told the Mitchell Republic in an email officials conducted a thorough review of the file and the facts of the case to reach their decision.

    South Dakota statute 23A-27A-1 also helps prosecutors decide on the death penalty by providing 10 aggravating factors to a charge.

    The charge could be considered aggravated if:

    * The defendant has a prior Class A or Class B felony conviction, or the defendant committed murder and has a felony conviction for a crime of violence;
    * The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person in a public place;
    * The defendant committed the offense for the benefit of the defendant or another, for the purpose of receiving money or any other thing of monetary value;
    * The defendant committed the offense on a current or former judicial officer or prosecutor, while engaged in their duties;
    * The defendant caused or directed another to commit murder or committed murder as an agent or employee of another person;
    * The offense was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated battery to the victim;
    * The offense was committed against a law enforcement officer, employee of a corrections institution, or firefighter while engaged in the performance of such person's official duties;
    * The offense was committed by a person in, or who has escaped from, the lawful custody of a law enforcement officer or place of lawful confinement;
    * The offense was committed for the purpose of avoiding, interfering with or preventing a lawful arrest or custody in a place of lawful confinement, of the defendant or another; or
    * The offense was committed in the course of manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing substances listed in Schedules I and II in violation of law.

    Bormann did not comment what specifically led to the decision not to pursue the death penalty in Caffee's case.

    Caffee is accused of murdering his wife's 90-year-old grandmother in a late night confrontation at the victim's home in Wessington Springs. He's currently being held in the Beadle County Jail without bond.

    He's due to appear for a jury trial in Wessington Springs beginning Aug. 4.

    Links to our past work on Caffee's criminal proceedings can be found at the bottom of this article.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/death-pen...004700653.html
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  4. #4
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    Caffee sentenced in first degree murder case

    Associated Press

    WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota man convicted of killing his wife’s grandmother after assaulting his wife was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

    Mitch Caffee, 39, of Wessington Springs, was originally charged with two dozen felony counts in the October 2021 incident. Authorities said it began when he broke into the Wessington Springs home of his wife’s mother, 90-year-old Lorraine Redmann, in order to confront his wife over his arrest for violating a no-contact order between the two.

    A gun-toting Caffee pushed his wife onto a couch and then shot and killed Redmann when she came to check on the commotion. Caffee held his wife hostage for several hours before surrendering to authorities, according to court documents.

    Caffee pleaded guilty last month to first degree manslaughter and aggravated assault.

    The shooting resulted “in the tragic death of a well-respected member of the community,” Jerauld County State’s Attorney Dedrich Koch said. “The hope is this sentence will bring some closure to the family in this very difficult case.”

    “Life sentences are reserved for the most heinous of crimes. Judge Pardy recognized that what Caffee did on March 24, 2021, fit that category of crime and pronounced what we believe an appropriate sentence,” said Deputy Attorney General Brent Kempema.

    Attorney General Mark Vargo said, “I’m extremely proud of the teamwork involved from beginning to end in both the investigation and prosecution of this horrific crime. My hat’s off to all involved.”

    https://www.newscenter1.tv/caffee-se...e-murder-case/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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