RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Two men who pleaded guilty to stabbing a 56-year-old man to death to steal his wallet in Rapid City have been sentenced to a combined 150 years in prison.
Twenty-year-olds Ranon Bissonette and Hunter High Pipe received their sentences is separate hearings Friday. The pair pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors. They initially faced more serious charges.
The man they killed on September 2015 was Edward Lowry, who worked in the Journal newspaper’s printing plant. Authorities say Bissonette, High Pipe and a third suspect, Gabe Selwyn Heikkinen, attacked Lowry after he left a bar near work. Heikkinen died by suicide shortly before Bissonette and High Pipe were charged in May 2016.
Bissonette received a 100-year sentence and High Pipe was sentenced to 50 years.