Former Yankton County Chief Deputy Indicted on Two Felony Evidence Charges

Northeast Radio SD News – Yankton County, SD - A former Yankton County chief deputy sheriff has been indicted on two felony counts related to the alleged alteration of a law enforcement criminal report, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced.

A Yankton County grand jury indicted Michael Rothschadl, 56, on one felony count of Offering Forged or Fraudulent Evidence and one felony count of Falsification of Evidence.

According to Jackley, Rothschadl served as the Yankton County chief deputy sheriff at the time of the incident on April 1, 2021, when he allegedly changed information contained in a law enforcement criminal report.

Rothschadl is scheduled to make his first court appearance at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Yankton County Circuit Court.

If convicted, Rothschadl faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for Offering Forged or Fraudulent Evidence and a maximum sentence of two years in prison for Falsification of Evidence. He is presumed innocent under the U.S. Constitution.

The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) investigated the case, and the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office will handle the prosecution