Lynn Crooks, lead prosecutor in Leonard Peltier murder trial, dies at age 83

FARGO (KVRR) – The man who led the prosecution of former Native American activist Leonard Peltier in the murders of two FBI agents has died.

Lynn Crooks was 83 years old.

As an assistant U.S. attorney, Crooks led the team of prosecutors during Peltier's trial in Fargo in 1977.

Peltier was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The shootings occurred in 1975 during a confrontation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Crooks also charged Yorie Kahl, the son of Posse Comitatus member Gordon Kahl. The Kahls, along with Scott Faul, were involved in a fatal shootout with police officers near Medina, ND.

US Marshal Kenneth Muir and Deputy Marshal Robert Cheshire were killed in the shootout.

“Lynn was a wonderful man. A great trial lawyer. But more importantly, a kind and caring man with many friends who loved him,” said former federal prosecutor and East Central District Court Judge Norman Anderson, a longtime colleague.

Crooks served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1969 to 2002.

After his retirement, Crooks became a committed advocate of Marcy's Law, which sought to expand the rights of crime victims.