Department of Justice

Acting 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 by Karen E. Schreier, U.S. District Judge.

Alex Usher, age 32, was sentenced on August 9, 2021, to four years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. He was also ordered to pay $600 in restitution.

Usher was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2019. The charge relates to Usher, who is a previously convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms, being found in possession of a Winchester shotgun, which was found after a search of Usher’s residence in November 2018.

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.

This case was investigated 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.

Usher was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.