Move into SD bunker backfires on family seeking a new life

IGLOO, S.D. – David Streeter thought abandoning his traditional life to relocate into a survival bunker in South Dakota would allow his family to retreat from the stresses, expenses and restrictions of the modern world.

The family of three also wanted to be prepared in case an apocalypse of some kind altered the course of mankind and threatened their lives and way of life.

But 18 months after leasing a former Army munitions bunker in the Vivos xPoint residential complex south of Edgemont, the Streeters have had their dreams shattered. And they now find themselves embroiled in a situation that has brought on a level of upheaval, worry and danger they specifically sought to avoid.

"It's been nothing but a nightmare," said Streeter, 51. "We just wanted to get away from the rat race and live peacefully, but obviously that hasn't happened."

SD bunker residents raise financial, safety concerns

A former military munitions site with concrete bunkers now used as residences has become the source of numerous lawsuits.

South Dakota News WatchBart Pfankuch

In August, Streeter – an Army veteran who was injured while serving in Bosnia – shot a Vivos contract employee at close range. Streeter said the man had threatened his family and he was defending himself. No charges were filed in that case or in a fatal shooting involving Streeter in Montana in 2010.

Streeter's daughter witnessed and videotaped the Igloo shooting while his 12-year-old daughter was calling 911 for help. His younger daughter now sometimes cries in her sleep, Streeter said.

Streeter and his wife, Katja, a nurse who works in Hot Springs, were evicted from their bunker and are living in cramped quarters with nine other adults and children in a home with only one shower not far from the Vivos complex.

Streeter and his wife are the plaintiffs or defendants in a handful of lawsuits related to their eviction, the shooting, a protection order request against him and small claims cases.

For now, the Streeters have lost the money paid to lease and build out the Vivos bunker, a tab Streeter estimates is around $300,000. They've also spent about $15,000 in legal fees to file or fight several lawsuits.

Streeter said that even after moving out of Vivos, the on-site subcontractor he shot – a convicted felon known to carry guns – frequently parks outside or drives by the house where they now live.

Streeter said he also has been interviewed twice by agents of the FBI, which former Vivos residents said has launched an investigation into the bunker complex and its owner.

The stress of protecting his family, battling for his legal rights, maintaining financial solvency and trying to retain a sense of normalcy has led Streeter to make late-night calls to a veterans' mental health hotline on four occasions, he said.

"I find myself in a situation where I have to constantly defend my family, and it should never have been that way," said Streeter, who carries a handgun at all times.

Bunker complex a source of resident unrest

Streeter is not alone in his stress and disappointment on how things have turned out at the bunker complex, but he has become a lightning rod in the effort to hold the owners accountable and push for positive change.

The Vivos xPoint survivalist community was developed in 2016 on the site of the former Black Hills Army Depot munitions storage facility. More than 500 above-ground concrete bunkers are marketed for lease to those who are worried about a potential national or global disaster or who want to live mostly off-the-grid. The site is in a remote area 8 miles south of Edgemont in southwestern South Dakota.

The concrete bunkers, which look like earthen igloos, held military conventional and chemical munitions from 1942 to 1967. The town of Igloo grew up around the depot and was once home to Tom Brokaw, a South Dakota native and former NBC anchor. The base and town are now abandoned.

A four-month News Watch investigation recently revealed that the Vivos complex has been the subject of at least 16 lawsuits or legal filings, five complaints to the South Dakota Attorney General's Office, and is now part of an inquiry by the FBI.

Vivos is owned and managed by California businessman Robert K. Vicino, who told News Watch that the complex is largely peaceful, well-maintained and has been a financial success.

Vicino also denied allegations of financial impropriety, breaking of contractual obligations or retaliation against people who complained in legal or state documents. He said any unrest present at Vivos is being perpetuated by a small group of disgruntled residents and "bad apples," including Streeter.

In mid-2023, Streeter sold his home in Montana and leased a bunker at Vivos xPoint to get away from the modern world and test his mettle at building a home inside the bunker and successfully living off the grid.

The relatively low lease cost and monthly and annual fees, when compared to the cost of a traditional home and property taxes, would also allow Streeter and his family to travel internationally, he said.

After living for a time in a camper outside, he eventually moved himself, his wife and his daughter into the bunker. Later, he built out the bunker with a sub-floor, walls, and a kitchen, bathroom and TV rooms.

However, it wasn't long after that problems arose and his expectation of a peaceful life on the South Dakota prairie was shattered.

Streeter's complaints rejected by Vivos

Streeter began to contact Vivos management with complaints that his septic system at the bunker wasn't functional and that the tires on his truck had been destroyed by nails and railroad spikes mixed within the road gravel.

In email communications with Vicino, Streeter asked to be compensated for the ruined tires and to have Vivos pay to get the septic system fixed. Streeter also made extensive allegations about how Vivos was being run, how resident money was being spent and warned that he would file in small claims court to be paid if a financial arrangement could not be made.

In an email correspondence from March 30, reviewed by News Watch, Vicino rejected Streeter's claims that Vivos was responsible for tire or septic system damages.

"So now you are threatening extortion and tort," Vicino wrote, warning that "I think you are going down the rabbit hole."

In April, Streeter filed two small claims cases against Vivos xPoint, both of which are pending.

A near-fatal shooting, but no charges filed

After that, Streeter said, Vivos' on-site contract employees began to frequently drive by his home, sometimes fast and sometimes slowly, give him the middle finger or take pictures or videos of him, his bunker and his family.

Streeter said Vivos contract employee Shear "J.R." Rodriguez ran him and his wife off the roadway several times within the Vivos complex. Even though Streeter complained to management and law enforcement, the dangerous behavior continued, he said. Streeter said a Fall River County Sheriff's Office lieutenant told him that officers could not respond because the Vivos complex was on private property.

In August, Streeter said his concerns intensified when his adult daughter and young grandchildren moved onto his bunker property.

On Aug. 23, Streeter said Rodriguez drove at high speeds past Streeter's bunker. Streeter said he tracked down Rodriguez, pulled him over and reached into his truck and grabbed him by the shirt, warning him to stay away from his family.

A while later, Vivos contract employee Kelly Anderson drove up to Streeter's bunker on a Caterpillar track loader, which the manufacturer indicates weighs up to 9,000 pounds and has a top speed of 7 mph.

Streeter said Anderson began to threaten Streeter, who pulled his handgun and pointed it at Anderson.

At one point, Streeter said Anderson lunged toward him, and Streeter fired a single shot, striking Anderson in the chest. Five minutes later, Streeter, a former emergency medical technician, left his yard and began to provide aid to Anderson.

Streeter and another man who arrived on the scene, Chris Yellow Thunder, loaded Anderson into a truck and drove him off the bunker property, where they were met by an ambulance and authorities.

Prior to arriving at Streeter's property, Anderson sent text messages to Yellow Thunder, who is an acquaintance of both Anderson and Streeter, that he was heading to Streeter's bunker to confront him.

In the text message, viewed by News Watch, Anderson stated: "I'm about to f— his ass up," and, "What he did isn't right and I'm gonna educate this mother f———."

Months later, according to Fall River State's Attorney Lance Russell, a grand jury heard testimony and reviewed evidence in the case and decided not to indict Streeter with a crime related to the shooting. Streeter was charged with one count of simple assault for the earlier confrontation with Rodriguez, according to court documents.

Rodriguez could not be reached for comment. Anderson did not return a message left on his voicemail.

Streeter was evicted from his bunker and is being sued in civil court for damages by Anderson. A court overturned the eviction, but Streeter is still unable to legally enter Vivos due to a separate legal filing.

"Vivos promises to do all this vetting, but why do you then hire a known felon who carries guns to work down here?" Streeter said.

Vicino told News Watch that he hopes the state attorney general's office, despite the grand jury ruling, will eventually charge Streeter with attempted murder.

"There’s no vendetta here, and we had no bone to pick with this guy," Vicino said. "He has a temperament issue, and that was an egregious act."

Streeter's attorney, J. Scott James of Custer, said the relationship between Streeter and Vivos, and its on-site subcontractors, has left Streeter in an almost untenable situation.

"I think Mr. Streeter came here with a lot of hope about how his life would be when he got here, and I think that he’s been frustrated and disappointed by the way his interactions with Vivos have gone, and that he certainly didn’t expect to be in the middle of a shooting match with a (Vivos) employee," James said.

"He didn’t expect to be fearful for his safety and his life at all times, and has to basically guard himself 24 hours a day to keep everything from being taken from him."

Hard to back down now, Streeter says

Streeter, by nature, is not one to back away from a fight. He grew up on a ranch in Montana, and his military service in Bosnia and his later work as a federal prison correctional officer, law enforcement officer and certified emergency medical technician are all roles that require some fortitude.

Streeter is also no stranger to using violence to protect his loved ones.

In 2010, he was called to his mother's home to break up a violent fight between her and Streeter's stepfather. When his stepfather emerged with a loaded shotgun, Streeter shot and killed him. No charges were filed in that case, according to local press accounts.

When Streeter was evicted, his friend Yellow Thunder immediately opened his house to him, his wife and daughter as well as Streeter's adult daughter and her four children. The home is one of a handful in the former town of Igloo and sits a couple miles or so from the entrance to Vivos xPoint.

"I don't trust easy, but Dave and I hit it off the second we met," Yellow Thunder said. "So when they needed a place to stay, it was never a question that they would come in here, and in fact, I would have been offended if they had gone to a hotel or anywhere else to live."

Streeter said he is angry over how he and other Vivos residents have been treated. But he is also disappointed that formal complaints made by him and other Vivos residents to local and state authorities have not led to substantive investigations or action.

"It's like they think, 'If we don't see any problems, they're not there,'" Streeter said. "All we need is for someone to take an interest and do something. All of this has happened down here, and I've reported it to every entity I can find, everybody that should have authority over it, and nothing has been done to help me or all these other people being hurt down here."

Fall River County Sheriff Lyle Norton did not return calls seeking comment, and attorney general's office spokesman Tony Mangan said there is no ongoing AG investigation into Vivos.

Meanwhile, Streeter said he is waiting for lawsuits he has filed or those filed against him to be resolved before making any plans for the future.

"I don't like to run from things, and I'm tired of giving in to all this bulls—," Streeter said. "My wife and my daughter have asked me not to go back down there to Vivos, but what do we do? I've got $300,000 into that (bunker), and we're not a rich family. We put all of our savings into building a home there."

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they're published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at bart.pfankuch@sdnewswatch.org.