SIOUX FALLS — A Sioux Falls man was acquitted of two counts of murder in connection with a fatal 2020 shooting in the city’s west end.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, a Minnehaha County jury acquitted 36-year-old Ryan Noel Aadland, of Sioux Falls, of one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree manslaughter.
The charges stem from 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2020, when 36-year-old Clay Stubbs was found shot to death near a crashed vehicle at the intersection of 57th Street and Marion Road.
According to court documents, Aadland and then-39-year-old Lowell Loberg planned on robbing Stubbs during a drug deal. In an interview with police, Loberg accused Aadland of shooting Stubbs twice, killing him.
Though Aadland was acquitted of the murder charges, he was convicted of possession of a firearm by a former violent offender, a Class 6 felony. On Wednesday, Feb. 1, he was sentenced to two years in prison, but credit for 834 days already served in jail means Aadland will not see any prison time.
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Loberg was originally charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in connection with Stubbs’ death. In June 2021, he accepted a plea agreement dismissing those charges in exchange for a guilty plea to accessory to a felony. A sentencing hearing on that conviction was continued until Feb. 15, 2023.
The Trust Project
