Texas Man Charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Galveston, Texas, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.

Michael Herring, age 55, was indicted on June 8, 2021.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on August 12, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison 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 Indictment alleges that on January 24, 2021, in Pierre, South Dakota, Herring, who had previously been convicted of crime punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year, and being an unlawful user of a controlled substance, knowingly possessed a firearm, which had been previously shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce.

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 Pierre Police Department, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges is prosecuting the case.

Herring was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.