Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Rapid City Man Charged with Illegal Possession of Ammunition
Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person.
Elias LaPointe, age 28, was indicted on October 21, 2021. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on November 1, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The charge stems from LaPointe, a previously convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, knowingly being in possession of multiple rounds of .45 AUTO caliber ammunition in Rapid City in July 2021. The charge is merely an accusation and LaPointe is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson is prosecuting the case.
LaPointe was detained pending trial. A trial date has not been set.