Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Theft of Firearms and Assault on a Federal Officer. The sentencing took place on March 24, 2023.

David Gibbons, a/k/a DJ Gibbons, 28, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $3,795 in restitution on the theft of firearms charge. Gibbons was also sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison on the assault of a federal officer case, of which two years were ordered to run consecutively with the theft of firearms charge, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.

Gibbons was indicted for Theft of Firearms by a federal grand jury February of 2021 and for Assault on a Federal Officer in January of 2022. He pleaded guilty on November 4, 2022.

In September of 2020, Gibbons stole ten firearms, including a Derya Arms, 12-gauge, semi-automatic shotgun, from the True Value Hardware Store in Martin, South Dakota. Gibbons later traded several of those firearms for methamphetamine. Gibbons was arrested on the theft of firearms charge and was then held in custody at the Pennington County Jail. In September of 2021, while being held at the Pennington County Jail, Gibbons assaulted a Pennington County Jail Sheriff’s Department Correctional Officer.

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, the Rapid City Police Department, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.

Gibbons was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.