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Crowds wander along the midway at the Central States Fair on Saturday night in Rapid City. The fair continues through Aug. 27.

The Pennington County Sheriff's Office and the Central States Fair are both taking action after more gunshots were heard Monday night near the fairgrounds and a stolen gun was recovered at the fair itself.

Gunshots skirted the Central States Fair two nights in a row, adding to a recent surge in gun violence in Rapid City, which has led to four deaths since Aug. 10 and three injuries.

According to the PCSO, at 11:58 p.m. Monday, deputies heard gunshots near the intersection of Lacrosse and Centre streets, according to a Tuesday afternoon press release. 

Bullets struck two vehicles, but no one was injured. Law enforcement arrested Kasey John Arehart, 18, of Rapid City, on three counts of aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm at a motor vehicle. He is held at the Pennington County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court at 10 a.m. Wednesday. 

Also on Monday evening, prior to the shooting, deputies responded to "a disturbance on the midway." They arrested a juvenile for possession of a firearm stolen from an unlocked vehicle in 2020.

Just 24 hours prior, the PCSO responded to reports of gunshots near the fairgrounds about midnight Sunday night. Onsite deputies also heard the shots, according to a PCSO social media post. The shooter or shooters fled the area, and law enforcement does not believe anyone was injured.

It is unclear if the Sunday night report, the Monday night shooting and the juvenile arrest are related in any way or are completely separate incidents. PCSO Public Information Officer Helene Duhamel did not return several phone calls Tuesday.

As a result of the gunfire, the sheriff's office announced the fair will close the gates to new admissions at 10 p.m., two hours earlier than usual. A news release said the public will see an increased law enforcement presence and security-related measures for the rest of the fair. The release did not specify how much presence will increase or what new measures will be taken.

The incidents add to a violent trend over the past two weeks in Rapid City involving minors and young adults. 

On Aug. 10 at Knollwood Townhouses, Cory Old Horse, 32, of Interior was shot dead and another man was injured. That same day, a man was grazed by a bullet across the street at Knollwood Heights Apartments on Surfwood Drive in an incident police said was unrelated. No one has been arrested for those incidents.

In the early morning of Aug. 17, a minor male was shot and injured near Anamosa Street and Holcomb Avenue. 17-year-old runaway Robert Yellow Bird was identified as a suspect in the shooting.

Yellow Bird is also a suspect in the death of two men on Saturday morning at Knollwood Heights Apartments on Surfwood Drive. 15-year-old Rochelle Janis and 20-year-old Chase Quick Bear are wanted for the shooting.

Yellow Bird and Benita Cisneros, a suspected driver of a get-away vehicle, were arrested Tuesday by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Quick Bear and Janis remain at-large as of late Tuesday.

The Rapid City Police Department said Tuesday that the homicides are "likely an example of gang violence."

"The cycle of gang violence often results in retaliation. As a result, the lives of these individuals has [sic] been put in danger," the Rapid City Police Department posted on social media. 

Law enforcement served a search warrant at a residence on Wood Avenue on Sunday morning in hopes of finding one of suspects. They instead arrested seven others on outstanding warrants. The two minors and young adult are on the loose as of Tuesday evening.

The busy weekend continued on Sunday night when Acey Morrison, 30, of Rapid City, was shot at a mobile home on Country Road north of Rapid City. It is unclear who shot Morrison, but the PCSO said on Sunday they had identified the shooter and law enforcement were interviewing them.

In a Tuesday press release, the PCSO said the homeowner was cooperating. It is unclear if the homeowner was the shooter.

The Rapid City Police Department ask anyone with information on the Aug. 10 incidents and the Saturday morning deaths or the whereabouts of Janis or Quick Bear to contact police at 605-394-4131. An anonymous tip can be submitted by texting the letters RCPD and the information to 847411. 

The Pennington County Sheriff's Office ask anyone with information on the Sunday night shooting near the fairgrounds to contact the office at 605-394-6115. Anyone with information on the death of Morrison should contact PCSO Investigator Cameron Ducheneaux at 605-394-6115.

— Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com — 

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Crowds wander along the midway at the Central States Fair on Saturday night in Rapid City. The fair continues through Aug. 27.

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