Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Sioux Falls man, Boru Guye Wako, Jr., has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for possessing a firearm illegally. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down the sentence on September 15, 2025. In addition to the prison term, Wako will serve three years of supervised release and must pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Wako, age 39, was found guilty of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment after a two-day jury trial on July 1, 2025. He had been indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023.
The case arose from an incident on March 8, 2023, when the Sioux Falls Police Department received information about a stolen vehicle last seen being driven by Wako. Detectives with the Sioux Falls Violent Crime Unit located him in the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. According to authorities, Wako fled through a residential neighborhood before abandoning the car in an alleyway. When approached again by detectives, he escaped on foot and later stole another vehicle.
Detectives searching the first abandoned vehicle discovered a firearm in the driver’s side door; subsequent analysis confirmed that Wako’s DNA was present on it. At that time, Wako was prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions and because he was under indictment for another felony offense.
“This case is the result of powerful partnerships between local and federal law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “For nearly three years now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked with the Sioux Falls Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to charge local violent offenders with federal firearm offenses whenever possible. Through federal prosecution, we have been removing violent offenders from the streets of Sioux Falls for significant periods of time, interrupting violence and keeping our community safe.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies: The Sioux Falls Police Department led efforts alongside Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen joined U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell in prosecuting this case.
Wako was remanded immediately into custody following sentencing.
