Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City man has been sentenced for illegal firearm possession. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler handed down the sentence on July 21, 2025.
William Janis, aged 25, received a two-and-a-half-year federal prison term followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. This federal sentence will run consecutively to his state custody sentence for a prior drug conviction.
Janis was indicted in February 2025 and pleaded guilty on April 28, 2025, for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. His arrest occurred in December 2024 when law enforcement officers responded to reports of him yelling outside an apartment complex in Rapid City and attempting entry. Upon arrest, Janis informed officers about the firearm in his waistband, which was subsequently seized.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative by the Department of Justice targeting illegal immigration and violent crime through organized efforts such as Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rapid City Police Department conducted the investigation, with Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuting.
Janis has been remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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