Eau Claire Man Sentenced for Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Thursday, September 25th, 2025 -- 10:01 AM

Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dustin Cullins, 37, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 7 years for possessing a firearm as a felon.

The prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Cullins pleaded guilty to this charge on July 9, 2025. During a probation search of Cullins’s residence, law enforcement found a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun along with ammunition stored inside a clothes dryer.

Cullins admitted to buying the firearm and ammunition and said he kept the firearm to use against his girlfriend’s ex-husband. Cullins is prohibited from legally possessing firearms and ammunition because of prior felony convictions and was on state probation at the time of this offense.

At the sentencing, Judge Peterson considered Cullins’s lengthy criminal history. He emphasized that Cullins is exactly the kind of person who should not have a firearm, particularly considering his history of drug use. Judge Peterson encouraged Cullins to engage in substance abuse programming while in custody.

The charge against Cullins was the result of an investigation conducted by the Eau Claire Police Department and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, which is comprised of agents from ATF and task force officers from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lennon prosecuted this case.

Federal criminal cases involving firearms are 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).

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