Sioux Falls Man Sentenced for Firearms Offense
US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Sioux Falls man charged with a firearms offense was sentenced on April 13, 2012, by Chief US District Judge Karen E. Schreier. Marckus Ray Drake, age 31, was sentenced to 75 months in custody (concurrent with a state sentence he is currently serving), to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Drake was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm and being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm by a federal grand jury on April 5, 2011. He pled guilty to the first offense on January 25, 2012, and the other offense was dismissed.
Drake obtained a 9mm pistol and kept it near his bed at his residence in Harrisburg. On March 17, 2010, Drake suspected law enforcement was about to search his home, so he tried to hide the firearm by having another person place it in a snowbank outside his home. On that same day, law enforcement searched Drake’s home and found the firearm in the snowbank.
Drake was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of a felony offense.
This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. Assistant US Attorney John E. Haak prosecuted the case.
Drake was immediately returned to the custody of the Warden of the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
###