Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Eagle Butte Man Sentenced for Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, man convicted of Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm was sentenced on June 27, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Tahlon Ducheneaux, age 29, was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Ducheneaux was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 13, 2021. He pled guilty on March 28, 2022.
The conviction stems from an incident on March 23, 2021, in Eagle Butte during a traffic stop, in which Ducheneaux was the passenger in the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement located a red backpack that belonged to Ducheneaux and inside the bag found a pistol and drug paraphernalia. Ducheneaux is a felon and an unlawful user of a controlled substance, making him a prohibited person.
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 Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
Ducheneaux was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.