RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a woman from Rapid City, South Dakota, convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on January 12, 2026.

Talisse Fighting Bear, 34, was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The federal sentence was ordered to run concurrent to a state sentence Fighting Bear is currently serving.

Fighting Bear was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in May 2025. She pleaded guilty on October 8, 2026.

At a grocery store in Rapid City, South Dakota, Fighting Bear pointed a handgun at several people. Before arriving to the grocery store, Fighting Bear had fired one round into the air. While inside, she held a store clerk at gunpoint and directed her to move. Fighting Bear then pointed the gun at two other people. Fighting Bear had been previously convicted of a felony and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.

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. 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.

This case was investigated by the ATF and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.

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