By james art 
CANTON, SD — A 24-year-old Sioux Falls man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after he and three others were involved in a shooting that left another man with a bullet in his brain in April.
During a change of heart hearing in Lincoln County Circuit Court on Monday, October 28, Antonio Hacker pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder. He had previously pleaded not guilty in June.
Hacker is one of four defendants facing attempted-murder charges in the April shooting of 24-year-old Dylan James, who was 24 at the time. Two other defendants, Victor Rios and Danai Cha, have maintained their not guilty pleas and are scheduled to stand trial in December.
A fourth defendant, Rakim Fitzgerald, is a Pennsylvania native who has not yet been taken into custody, according to court records.
The charges stem from around 10:00 p.m. on April 30, when a bystander discovered a Pontiac G6 in a ditch along 469th Avenue (Tea-Ellis Road) in Sioux Falls, approximately a quarter mile south of the intersection with 57th Street .
The civilian called 911, assuming the vehicle had been involved in an accident, but learned that James had been shot in the head. According to court documents, James had a bullet lodged in his brain, but was conscious and able to talk to authorities at a Sioux Falls hospital.
Jaimes initially told investigators that he was being followed in a Toyota Corolla before he was shot by three masked men, but a juvenile who was in Jaimes’ car told police that Jaimes began following the Corolla after its occupants stole marijuana.
Prosecutors say the two vehicles followed each other through Sioux Falls, but that James stopped his pursuit on 57th Street, turning south on 269th Street to get away from the Corolla.
Somehow, the Corolla is said to have followed Jaimes’ G6 into 269th place. The juvenile allegedly told police that the Corolla went down the G6 and stopped in the lane. While being pulled over, the youth said Rios got out of the vehicle and shot James through the windshield.
The next morning, officers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol found the Corolla inoperable on the interstate and eventually tracked it to Hacker. During an interview at the Sioux Falls Walmart, Hacker denied being involved in the shooting.
Prosecutors say cellphone data collected from the four suspects’ phones placed each of them near where Jamie was allegedly robbed, as well as near where he was shot. Surveillance video also confirmed the men’s involvement.
After warrants were obtained, Rios, Hacker and Cha were booked into jail. Fitzgerald has not yet been taken into custody.
After Hacker pleaded guilty, he faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. He will be sentenced on December 9.
A native of South Dakota, Hunter joined Forum Communications as a reporter for the Mitchell (SD) Republic in June 2021 and now works as a digital reporter for Forum News Service.