2 stolen firearms recovered by Rapid City police

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Over the weekend, Rapid City police officers were able to take two guns off the streets.

On March 25, police initiated a standard traffic stop and found a handgun on the driver’s floorboard and a partially consumed alcohol bottle inside the vehicle. The driver, 33-year-old Vance Hayes of Eagle Butte, was arrested when police determined that the handgun was reported stolen from a vehicle burglary in July 2022.

Hayes was arrested for possession of a firearm with a prior felony drug conviction, receiving stolen property, driving without a valid license, and having an open container in a motor vehicle.

On the morning of March 27, police stopped a vehicle that ran a stop sign. Police say they saw a small baggie containing a controlled substance in plain view within the vehicle, determining the substance to be Suboxone. Police found 28-year-old Bobbie Midgett of Hill City had a suspended driver’s license as well,

When police searched Midgett’s purse, they found a handgun, syringes, a baggie containing a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, and a scale with a powder residue on it. Police also discovered two methamphetamine pipes and numerous jeweler baggies inside the vehicle.

Midgett was placed under arrest for possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, distribution of a controlled substance, the commission of a felony with a firearm, driving under suspension, and a stop sign violation.