Department of Justice

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a New Mexico man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced on November 4, 2021, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Cody Newitt, age 34, was sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Newitt was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 23, 2020, and pleaded guilty on July 9, 2021. The conviction stems from Newitt, a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, knowingly possessing a CZUB, model CZ 75 Compact, 9mm Luger caliber semi-automatic pistol, which was found after Newitt came into contact with law enforcement in January 2020 at Rapid City.

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.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

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