It took a jury in Rapid City just an hour of deliberation Thursday to find a man not guilty of three counts of beatings in September 2020 that left one man dead and two women with permanent injuries.
Allac “AJ” Dismounts Thrice was charged with 1 first degree murder in the death of Richard Montanez and 2 attempted first degree murder in the assault on the women.
Dismounts Thrice had been incarcerated for well over 2 years but was released shortly after the jury returned its verdict to end the week-long trial that was expected to last up to 3 weeks.
Prosecutors charged Dismounts Thrice with attacking all three victims with a roof hammer while they slept – Montanez in one room and the women in another.
Montanez allowed Dismounts Thrice, a friend of a friend, to stay with him temporarily. his 2 children and the 2 wives.
The defense argued that large quantities of drugs were sold at the home and that someone who came there to buy drugs was likely the killer.
Prosecutors said after the not-guilty verdicts were issued that they believed conflicting testimony from witnesses at the home was a factor in the acquittal.
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