Convicted Felon Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Firearm Possession and Violating Sex Offender Laws

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencings took place on October 28, 2024.

As to the conviction for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, Jason Pumpkin Seed, age 36, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. For the conviction for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, Pumpkin Seed was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The Court ordered the prison sentences and periods of supervised release to be served concurrently. Pumpkin Seed was also ordered to pay $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

A federal grand jury indicted Pumpkin Seed in July and November of 2023. He pleaded guilty to both charges on July 23, 2024.

The conviction for possessing a firearm resulted from Pumpkin Seed's arrest after fleeing Rapid City Police officers in a stolen car in February of 2023. After Pumpkin Seed abandoned the car, officers recovered a loaded Hi-Point semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number inside the car. Pumpkin Seed's DNA was recovered from the car and the firearm. At the time he possessed the firearm, Pumpkin Seed was a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms,

The conviction for failing to register as a sex offender stems from Pumpkin Seed failing to register his address with the sex offender compliance officer in May of 2023, as required by federal law. Pumpkin Seed had previously been convicted in federal court of a violent sex offense. His sex offense conviction requires him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Rapid City Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

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