Rapid City Woman Sentenced on Firearm Charge
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced by Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court Judge.
Esmeralda Stands, age 38, was sentenced on January 6, 2020, to time served and 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $972.37 in restitution.
The charge related to Stands being in possession of a stolen .45 caliber revolver in January 2019 at Rapid City, which was found after Stands came into contact with a Rapid City police officer.
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 and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
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