Sioux City Man Who Stole Firearm from Fleet Farm and Escaped on a Bicycle Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who fled Sioux City Fleet Farm with the firearm was sentenced today, to more than 2 years in federal prison.

Lythung Thach, age 23, from Sioux City, received the prison term after a April 3, 2024, guilty plea to possession of a stolen firearm.

Evidence in the case revealed in June, 2023, Thach was inside Fleet Farm and requested assistance from an employee to view a handgun.  An employee removed the firearm from the case, removed the magazine and handed it to Thach.  Thach observed the firearm for a moment before suddenly fleeing out the front doors with the gun, where he got on a bicycle and fled the area.  Upon review of surveillance cameras, officers were able to identify Thach.  Two days after the incident, officers observed Thach on his bicycle at the intersection adjacent to the police department, where he was taken into custody for the stolen firearm.  Thach had the firearm on his person and a magazine he acquired from an unknown source and further admitted to stealing the firearm for “fun”.

Thach had previously attempted to gain access to the Sioux City Police Department through the personnel only secure entrance where he was directed to leave.  Thach then entered through the public entrance where he advised that he was a new hire and was there to pick up his uniform.  Command staff spoke with Thach where it became apparent Thach was not a new hire and he further advised that he had, in fact, not completed an application due to a prior domestic abuse conviction.

Thach was previously arrested in December, 2022, for serious assault.  Sioux City officers were dispatched for a physical disturbance between siblings.  The victim had several lacerations on his back and advised that Thach had been hit several times with a PVC pipe.

Thach was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 30 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Thach is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Justice-Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sioux City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-4054.

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