Rapid City Man Sentenced for Discharging Firearm During Crime of Violence

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Discharging a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence was sentenced by Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Judge.

Carl Shockey, age 19, was sentenced on April 3, 2020, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The conviction stems from Shockey and another person entering an occupied residence on April 23, 2019.   Shockey wore a blue bandana to conceal his identity and was armed with a shotgun.  After unlawfully entering the home in Pine Ridge, Shockey roused the sleeping occupants by loudly demanding they surrender their money and possessions.  Shockey discharged one round inside the home before he and his accomplice fled the residence in a vehicle that had been stolen from Rapid City.  The pair later abandoned the vehicle and were apprehended by Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety officers.

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.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its 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 local communities to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Justice Services, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.

Shockey was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.