Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person was sentenced on January 26, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Philip Nordvold, age 36, was sentenced to 16 months in custody, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Nordvold was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury on August 19, 2014. He pled guilty to the charge on October 21, 2014.

The conviction arose from an incident in February 2014, when Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe law enforcement officers found Nordvold asleep in a parked vehicle. The officers knocked on the window of the vehicle to awaken Nordvold, and one of the officers observed a handgun on the seat by Nordvold’s hand. The vehicle was then searched and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol was located under the driver’s seat. Nordvold had previously been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, and was therefore a person prohibited from possessing a firearm.

This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson prosecuted the case.

Nordvold was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving his sentence.

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