Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Rapid City man has been sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of receiving a firearm while under indictment. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on August 7, 2025, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell.
Terrance Drapeaux, 31, received a sentence of one year and three months in federal prison. He will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Drapeaux was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025 for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and receipt of a firearm while under indictment. He pleaded guilty on May 19, 2025.
Law enforcement officers located Drapeaux on December 4, 2024, when he had an active warrant for his arrest. According to the announcement, "Drapeaux resisted arrest and was discovered to have a firearm in his pocket." At that time, he had already been charged elsewhere with a felony crime that carried the possibility of more than one year in prison; that charge was still pending when he possessed the firearm. Federal law prohibits individuals charged with crimes punishable by more than one year in prison from receiving firearms.
"This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," according to the statement from authorities. "Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Through PSN, the District of South Dakota seeks to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone."
The investigation involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Rapid City Police Department, and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.
Drapeaux was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.