Rapid City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of Firearm
United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced on April 1, 2022, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.
Will LaClaire, age 37, was sentenced to four 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.
LaClaire was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 20, 2018, and pleaded guilty on November 12, 2021. The conviction stems from LaClaire, a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms, illegally possessing a Glock, model 36, .45 caliber pistol, which was found after LaClaire came into contact with law enforcement in January 2018 in 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 Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
LaClaire was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
