Department of Justice

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that Eric Ladeaux, age 35, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was found guilty of two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and one count of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm following a federal jury trial in Rapid City, South Dakota.  The verdict was returned on October 14, 2021.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.   

The conviction relates to Ladeaux, a person who is prohibited from possessing firearms, possessing firearms that were found after he came into contact with Pennington County Sheriff’s Office deputies in December 2019 and Rapid City Police Department officers in September 2020.  Ladeaux was also found to be in possession of an unregistered firearm in the September 2020 stop.

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, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rapid City Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has not been set.  The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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