Rapid City Man Charged with Firearm Crime

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man was charged in federal district court with Possession of an Unregistered Firearm.

Darwin Tallman, age 30, was charged on September 18, 2018.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on October 9, 2018, and pled not guilty to the charge. 

The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

The charge relates to Tallman knowingly being in possession of a Marlin, model 60, .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that had a barrel of less than 16 inches which was not registered to him.  The charge is merely an accusation and Tallman is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Patterson is prosecuting the case.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Tallman was detained pending trial.  A trial date has not been set.