Department of Justice

Acting United States Attorney Dennis Holmes announced that a Mission, South Dakota, man convicted of Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm was sentenced on June 7, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.

Patrick Leonard Iron Cloud, Jr., age 39, was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.  He was also ordered to forfeit all interest in the Colt pistol and ammunition seized.

Iron Cloud was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 10, 2020.  He pled guilty on March 22, 2021.

The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on October 2, 2020, in Mission.  Iron Cloud was involved in a traffic stop, and during the encounter law enforcement officers located various items of drug use and the Colt pistol.  The Defendant has a prior felony conviction and is a drug user, making it illegal for him to possess any firearm.        

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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 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.

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

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