CANTON, SD — A 24-year-old Sioux Falls man pleaded guilty to attempted murder after he and three others were involved in a shooting that left a bullet in another man’s brain in April.

During a change of plea hearing in Lincoln County 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 Jaimes, who was 24 at the time. Two other defendants, Victor Rios and Danai Cha, maintained their not guilty pleas and are scheduled to face a jury trial in December.

The fourth defendant, Rakeem Fitzgerald, is a Pennsylvania native and has not yet been arrested, according to court records.

The charges arise at approximately 10 p.m. on April 30, when a passerby located a Pontiac G6 in the ditch along 469th Avenue (Tea-Ellis Road) in rural Sioux Falls, approximately a quarter mile south from the intersection with 57th Street.

The civilian called 911 assuming the vehicle was involved in an accident, but learned that Jaimes had been shot in the head. Court documents say Jaimes had a bullet lodged in his brain, but was conscious and able to talk to authorities at a Sioux Falls hospital.

Jaimes first told investigators that he was being followed by a Toyota Corolla before three masked men shot him, but a juvenile who was in Jaimes’ car told police that Jamies began following the Corolla after its occupants stole dope.

Prosecutors say the two vehicles followed each other throughout Sioux Falls, but that Jaimes had ceased his pursuit along 57th Street, turning south on 269th Street to get away from the Corolla.

Somehow, the Corolla allegedly ended up following Jaimes’ G6 to post 269. The juvenile allegedly told police that the Corolla passed the G6 and stopped on the road. While detained, the juvenile said Ríos got out of the vehicle and shot Jaimes through the windshield.

The next morning, South Dakota Highway Patrol officers discovered the disabled Corolla on the Interstate and eventually tracked it to Hacker. During an interview at a Sioux Falls Walmart, Hacker denied being involved in the shooting.

Prosecutors say cell phone data collected from the four suspects’ phones placed each of them near the location where Jamies was allegedly robbed, as well as near the location where he was shot. Surveillance video also corroborated the men’s involvement.

After warrants were obtained, Rios, Hacker and Cha were jailed. Fitzgerald has not yet been arrested.

Following Hacker’s guilty plea, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. He will be sentenced on December 9.

Hunter, a South Dakota native, joined Forum Communications as a Mitchell (SD) Republic reporter in June 2021 and now works as a digital reporter for Forum News Service.