U.S. attorney hangs it up after 43-plus years as prosecutor

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The chief federal prosecutor in South Dakota announced Monday that he’s retiring.

U.S. Attorney Dennis Holmes spent more than 43 years as a prosecutor in the state. The Custer native began his career as a prosecutor in 1978 as an intern in the Pennington County States Attorney’s Office while he was still in law school at the University of South Dakota.

He went on to serve as an assistant state attorney general, rising to become chief deputy attorney general.

He joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Pierre in 1988 and moved to the Sioux Falls office in 1995, where he prosecuted a wide array of cases ranging from large-scale drug conspiracies to environmental crimes.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him as U.S. attorney for 120 days in December following U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons’ resignation.