A former Yankton County deputy sheriff, Michael Rothschadl, has been indicted by a grand jury on two felony counts related to the falsification of evidence, yankton.net reported, citing court documents dated Oct. 26, 2026. The indictment charges one count of offering forged or fraudulent evidence, a class 5 felony, and one count of falsification of evidence, a class 6 felony. The charges stem from April 2021. The indictment alleges he offered in evidence as genuine a document he knew had been forged or fraudulently altered, and prepared a false record intending it to be produced as genuine in a proceeding. Bond conditions require him to tell any current law enforcement employer within one week. The report notes that charges are allegations until decided in court.
Why it matters
Charges of offering forged evidence and falsifying evidence, if proven, would go to the integrity of the legal process. The case remains at the indictment stage, and the charges are allegations until decided in court.
Charged: Prosecutors filed criminal charges. A charge is not proof of guilt, and the person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Researched with AI assistance from the sources listed here and reviewed under our methodology.