A Sioux Falls man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down the sentence to John Michael Law, age 42, on November 3, 2025. Law will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Law was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2024 and pleaded guilty on August 19, 2025. The charges stem from an incident on April 3, 2023, when Sioux Falls police officers stopped Law during a traffic stop and found him with a .380 pistol and about two grams of methamphetamine. Law had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and was prohibited from possessing firearms due to that conviction as well as being an illegal user of methamphetamine.
The investigation was conducted by the Sioux Falls Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” according to information provided in connection with the sentencing. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Through PSN, the District of South Dakota seeks to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.”
Following sentencing, Law was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
