Rapid City Man Charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man was charged in federal district court with Possession of an Unregistered Firearm.
Shaun Shorter, age 31, was charged on July 23, 2020. Shorter appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on August 12, 2020, and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge relates to Shorter possessing a prohibitively-shortened 12 gauge shotgun in April 2019 at Rapid City that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required. The charge is merely an accusation and Shorter is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson is prosecuting the case.
Shorter was released pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
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