Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm. The sentencing took place on January 23, 2025.
Arlen Blackburn, 19, 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.
Blackburn was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm by a federal grand jury in July 2024. He pleaded guilty on November 1, 2024.
In April 2024, Rapid City Police Department responded to a shots-fired report in town. Law enforcement located a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle associated with the shots-fired report. The driver of the vehicle initially fled but later stopped and law enforcement discovered Arlen Blackburn inside as a passenger. Law enforcement learned that Arlen Blackburn had discharged a sawed-off shotgun earlier that day. The sawed-off shotgun barrel was far less eighteen inches in length. It is unlawful to possess an unregistered shotgun whose barrel is less than eighteen inches in length.
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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.
Blackburn was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.