Department of Justice

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Black Hawk, South Dakota, man convicted on two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced by Jeffrey L. Viken, District Judge.

Dana Greening, age 26, was sentenced on April 15, 2021, to 100 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The charges relate to Greening, a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, knowingly possessing a Glock, model 19, 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a Hi-Point, .40 caliber pistol, both with obliterated serial numbers. The Glock pistol was among the 24 firearms that were stolen by two other individuals from The Rooster sporting goods store in Rapid City in August 2018. During the investigation, 22 of the 24 stolen guns were recovered by law enforcement.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation, Rapid City Police Department, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

Greening was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.