A 27 year old woman from Eagle Butte was sentenced recently for the deaths of two people on the Cheyenne River Reservation. A federal court judge sentenced Jimi Jo Collins to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder plus three years of supervised release.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred in March of 2025. On March 2, 2025, Collins set fire to a residence in Eagle Butte that was occupied by multiple people. Several people escaped from the residence, but two victims were unable to get out and died in the fire.
The U-S Attorney’s Office reported Collins intentionally set fire to a mobile home, with people asleep inside, because she thought someone in there had broken her car window.
A federal grand jury indicted Collins in June of 2025. She pled guilty March 30th of this year and was sentenced June 22nd.
“This woman is an arsonist and a murderer,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case.
Collins was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.