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SD Supreme Court upholds 90-year prison sentence for teen who stabbed store clerk 38 times

Danielle Ferguson
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Stock image of courtroom and gavel.

The South Dakota Supreme Court this week said that a 90-year prison sentence for a teen who stabbed a convenience store clerk attempting to stop him and a friend from stealing beer was not unconstitutional. 

Carlos Quevedo, now 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the January 2017 death of Kasie Lord in Rapid City. He was sentenced to 90 years in prison, making him eligible for parole at the age of 62.

Quevedo appealed his sentence, saying his sentence was unconstitutional because of limitations for juvenile sentences, and that the sentence was disproportionately harsh. The state's highest court unanimously decided the sentence did not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Read the opinion:South Dakota v. Quevedo

In January 2017, Quevedo, then 17, was consuming alcohol, marijuana and cough medicine when he and a friend stole food and alcohol from convenience stores, rummaged through vehicles and ultimately went to another convenience store to steal beer, according to the opinion. 

Quevedo's friend, Cody Grady, found a knife in one of the vehicles, but Quevedo took it from him because he thought Grady was "too intoxicated" to have a weapon. When in the last Rapid City convenience store, the clerk, Lord, grabbed the first case of beer from Grady before the two boys could leave. 

Grady went back to grab another case of beer, according to the opinion, and Lord stood in front of the door and called 911. 

As she began to struggle with Grady to try to grab the second case of beer, Quevedo "started stabbing Lord in the back with the stolen knife."

 Lord can be heard on the 911 call asking Quevedo, “What are you doing? Are you stabbing me?” according to the opinion. Lord then tells him to “Stop it! You’ve got the beer!” and can be heard screaming as Quevedo stabs her. Quevedo can be heard on the call saying, “Shut the (expletive) up, (expletive).”

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Quevedo followed Lord to the parking lot and ultimately stabbed her 38 times, according to the case summary. 

Quevedo pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to 90 years in prison. Second-degree murder is a Class B felony, punishable by mandatory life in prison, but it has been ruled unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life in prison without the possibility of parole. South Dakota law says the sentence for juveniles convicted of homicide may be a "term of years."

At his sentencing, Quevedo's mitigating argument referenced his difficult childhood, which included instability, both parents’ substance abuse, and domestic abuse from his father, who also had prolonged absences because of incarceration. 

The sentencing court recognized Quevedo's age and difficult upbringing, but said Quevedo was a risk to the community, and could have stopped stabbing Lord and ran away with Grady, but instead chose to follow Lord and continue stabbing her.  

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Quevedo appealed his sentence, saying it violated the Eighth Amendment because it was grossly disproportionate to the crime and didn't follow juvenile sentencing restrictions. He said though the sentence was not mandatory life, the length of time could lead to him spending most or the rest of his life in prison.

The South Dakota Supreme Court disagreed, saying the court was within its sentencing parameters and that the sentencing judge properly weighed in Quevedo's past and age and that the punishment wasn't disproportionate to his crime. 

Quevedo is eligible for parole at the age of 62, which is "within his life expectancy," Justice Mark Salter wrote in the opinion. 

"After considering the gravity of the offense and assessing the relative harshness of Quevedo’s sentence, we conclude that he cannot meet the initial requirement to show that his sentence is grossly disproportionate to his crime," Salter wrote. 
