Department of Justice

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm was sentenced on December 13, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.

Devin Dolphus, age 22, was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, forfeiture of firearms and ammunition, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Dolphus was indicted for Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm by a federal grand jury on July 13, 2021. He pled guilty on September 27, 2021.

The conviction stemmed from an incident on May 31, 2021, in Eagle Butte, when Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe officers initiated a traffic stop on Dolphus and recovered drug paraphernalia, two firearms, and ammunition from the vehicle. Dolphus was previously convicted in June 2019 for a felony firearm offense, and based on the conviction, knew he was prohibited from possessing firearms.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.

Dolphus was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.