Northern District of Iowa

Brandon Scott Baker, age 39, formerly from Grundy Center, Iowa, has been charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography, and four counts of possession of child pornography.­  The charges are contained in an Indictment filed on February 24, 2026, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. 

The Indictment alleges that, over the course of several years, Baker used or attempted to use a minor to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct, transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, and received, transported, and possessed child pornography.  

If convicted on all charges, Baker faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life in prison and supervised release for life following any imprisonment.­

Baker is next scheduled to appear in court on March 6, 2026, to be arraigned on the charges in the Indictment.  He was previously charged via criminal complaint and last appeared in court on February 23, 2026, in Cedar Rapids.  Baker is being held without bond.  

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Telluride, Colorado, Police Department, and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 26-cr-00012.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Jason Michael Weiland, age 49, from Sherrill, Iowa, was sentenced on February 26, 2026, to over 21 years in federal prison.  

Weiland received the prison term after a June 18, 2025, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and 50 grams of pure methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice.”          

Evidence at the sentencing and plea hearings showed that in December 2024, law enforcement officers tried to stop the car Weiland was driving as Weiland returned to Dubuque, Iowa, from Missouri.  Weiland led police on a high-speed chase and eventually crashed into a ditch.  Officers took Weiland into custody and found over 280 grams of pure methamphetamine in his car.  Weiland intended to sell the methamphetamine to people in the Dubuque area.  Weiland had been travelling to Missouri to pick up large quantities of methamphetamine to sell in the Dubuque area.  In total, the court found Weiland responsible for over 7 kilograms of pure methamphetamine.  

Weiland has a prior 2000 federal conviction for unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of firearms and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, specifically methamphetamine, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana.   

Weiland was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Weiland was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dubuque Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 25-CR-1009.  

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A man who trafficked cocaine base, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana was sentenced yesterday to more than 12 years in federal prison.  Cleveland Stephens, also known as “Schmitty,” age 63, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 27, 2025, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.  

Information at sentencing showed that between August 2022 and June 2024, Stephens sold pounds of methamphetamine to multiple people.  In October 2022, he was in a car that was stopped in Davenport, Iowa.  Law enforcement officers searched the car and found cocaine base, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana.  In June 2024, law enforcement officers searched Stephens’s house and car in Cedar Rapids and found methamphetamine, marijuana, and nearly $4,500 in cash.

Stephens was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Stephens was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.  HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. 

This HSTF case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Devra T. Hake and Dillan Edwards and investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

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

The case file number is 24-CR-92.

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A man who possessed six firearms, three of which came from his grandmother, was sentenced on February 19, 2026, to one year in federal prison. Jonathan Michael Clark, age 32, from Monticello, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 3, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession of firearms by a prohibited person.

Information from sentencing showed that Clark applied for a weapons permit in 2018, and a sheriff’s office informed him that he was prohibited from possessing guns.  In June 2024, while officers were in Clark’s residence to arrest him on a warrant, an officer saw ammunition.  Officers subsequently searched Clark’s home and found six guns.   The investigation showed that the source for at least three of the guns, two of which she purchased, was Clark’s grandmother.  

Clark was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Clark was sentenced to 12 months and one day’s imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. Clark was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.  

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

The case file number is 24-CR-2056.

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A man who failed to update his sex offender registration was sentenced on February 23, 2026, to 18 months in federal prison.

Colton Rickels, age 30, of Center Junction, Iowa, received the sentence after a September 26, 2025, guilty plea to one count of failure to update registration as a sex offender.  At the plea hearing, Rickels admitted that, between July 2024 and April 2025, he knowingly failed to update his sex offender registration by failing to update the Internet identifiers he used.

Rickels was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Rickels was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.   

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Anamosa Police Department, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 25-47.

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A man who received images and videos of child pornography pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.  Anthony Paul Harden, age 47, from Rockford, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography. 

Evidence in a plea agreement and at a prior hearing showed that in August 2025, law enforcement officers searched Harden’s home in Rockford and seized four electronic devices that contained child pornography.  Between May 2023 and July 2025, Harden received and possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including of toddlers and sadistic and masochistic conduct.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Harden was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Harden faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, special assessments of $35,100, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-2065.  

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A man who distributed methamphetamine was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison.

John Robert Moro, age 34, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 6, 2025, guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.

Information from the sentencing hearing showed that Moro sold methamphetamine on two separate occasions in March 2024 to an individual who was working with law enforcement.

Moro was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Moro was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.  HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.

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

This HSTF case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-45.

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A Waterloo woman who bought guns for her boyfriend was sentenced February 19, 2026, to one year in federal prison. 

Arryel Skye Waters, age 24, of Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a September 4, 2025, guilty plea to one count of false statement during purchase of a firearm. 

Evidence at the sentencing and plea hearings showed that in July 2023, Waters attempted to purchase a gun from a business in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Waters’ boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, went with her to the store.  Employees at the store felt Waters was not being truthful about who she was buying the gun for, so they denied the purchase of the gun.  Waters then left the business and travelled to another business in Cedar Falls.  This time, her boyfriend stayed in the car.  Waters went inside and purchased a Glock firearm.  When she filled out the paperwork to purchase the gun, she noted she was buying the gun for herself.  In reality, Waters was buying the gun for her boyfriend.  Waters and her boyfriend were also both marijuana users at the time.   

In November 2023, Waters was working as a delivery driver.  Employees at one of the businesses she delivered to made comments to her that Waters relayed to her boyfriend.  Waters’ boyfriend confronted employees with the gun Waters had purchased for him.  The boyfriend was later arrested and charged with multiple counts, including felon in possession of a firearm.  Waters boyfriend had a prior felony conviction for burglary which prevented him from possessing firearms.  

Waters was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Waters was sentenced to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment.  She was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment fee.  Waters must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley L. Corkery and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, the Cedar Falls Police Department, and the Waterloo Police Department.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 24-CR-2043.

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A former Iowa paramedic who tampered with vials of narcotic pain medication was sentenced on February 17, 2026, to more than two years in federal prison.  Teresa Marie Johnson, age 53, from Manilla, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 5, 2025, guilty plea to one count of tampering with a consumer product.

Johnson was a licensed paramedic who took fentanyl from her employer, a county ambulance service.  The ambulance service used the fentanyl to alleviate the serious pain that patients were suffering in car accidents and other emergencies.  Beginning in late 2024, Johnson tampered with the ambulance service’s fentanyl stocks on three occasions in order to take it for her own use.  After investigators analyzed one of Johnson’s tampered vials from the county ambulance service’s inventory, they discovered it contained only 9.6% of its declared value of fentanyl.  They also reported evidence of an adhesive-like material on the flip-off cap, vial crimp and top stopper surface, at least two punctures on the bottom stopper surface, and other breaches to the vial.  One of Johnson’s fellow paramedics reported occasions when medication was administered “and the desired response did not happen.”

Before committing her tampering crime, Johnson had a criminal history.  Johnson has five prior misdemeanor theft convictions in state court.  She also received a deferred judgment in state court after pleading guilty to a felony forgery crime.  As a part of her plea agreement, Johnson agreed to forfeit her State of Iowa paramedic license to the United States.

Johnson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Johnson was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and fined $5,000.  She was also ordered to repay $6,000 in court-appointed attorney fees and costs.  Johnson must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Johnson was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-3029-LTS-KEM.

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A California man who helped bring methamphetamine and fentanyl from California to Iowa was convicted by a jury today after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Joshua James Cannady, age 51, from Yucca Valley, California, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and seven counts of distribution of a controlled substance.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about 90 minutes of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Cannady worked with others to send methamphetamine and fentanyl to Cedar Rapids and Mount Vernon, Iowa, between May 2023 and November 2024.  Law enforcement officers seized over 500 grams of actual methamphetamine and 1,700 fentanyl pills from seven different packages sent from California.  Cannady’s fingerprints were on three of the packages.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Cannady remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Cannady faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of lifetime imprisonment, a $43,000,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards, and it was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Services, the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Bernardino County, California, Sheriff’s Office,

the Riverside County, California, Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department, and the Dubuque Police Department.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-00025-CJW.

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A man who illegally re-entered the United States after having been convicted of two federal immigration-related felony offenses was sentenced February 18, 2026, to a total of four years in federal prison.

Jesus Banuelos-Lepe, 49, who is a citizen of Mexico but had been living in Maurice, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 30, 2025, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry as a felon.  Additionally, at the time he was found illegally in the United States, he was on federal supervised release from another 2023 federal illegal re-entry conviction which included conditions he neither illegally re-enter the United States, nor commit new law violations. The hearing on February 18, 2026, was a combined sentencing for the 2025 illegal re-entry conviction, and for the violations of his 2023 supervised release terms.

At the combined hearing, Banuelos-Lepe admitted that on July 20, 2025, he was arrested in Sioux County, Iowa, for operating while intoxicated after he was found passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle in the middle of the road after consuming 12 beers.  Following his arrest, he was booked into the Sioux County Jail but provided an alias to law enforcement.  Further investigation proved his true identity as Banuelos-Lepe, a citizen of Mexico, who had been removed from the United States on five occasions and did not have permission to legally be in the United States. 

Banuelos-Lepe had previously been convicted of federal felony transportation of an illegal alien, in April of 2007, in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.  This offense involved defendant smuggling two aliens into the United States from Mexico then holding one of them against their will pending additional smuggling fees. 

Banuelos-Lepe was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Banuelos-Lepe was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for this 2025 illegal re-entry conviction and 24 months’ imprisonment for violating conditions of supervised release from his 2023 conviction.  Those periods of incarceration are to be served consecutively, for a combined sentence of four years’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) 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).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-04045 and 25-CR-4057.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man with an extensive criminal history who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced February 12, 2026, to 19 years in federal prison.

Otis Lamont Foy, Jr., age 29, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 17, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine after having been convicted of a serious drug felony.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that between February and April 2025, Foy and others distributed over three pounds of methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge area.  An individual cooperating with law enforcement made multiple methamphetamine purchases from Foy.  Law enforcement officers searched Foy’s residence and found marijuana, cash, and drug paraphernalia.  Foy was a career offender, who had previously been convicted in 2016 of felony domestic abuse assault impeding normal breathing or circulation of blood, and in 2020 of felony possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  

Foy was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Foy was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Foy is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-03016.  

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa (USAO) announced today that Tony Morfitt was promoted on January 31, 2026, to the rank of Colonel in the Air Force and Iowa Air National Guard. Morfitt has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the USAO’s Cedar Rapids office since 2010.

Colonel Morfitt currently serves as the State Staff Judge Advocate for the Iowa Air National Guard, stationed at Joint Forces Headquarters in Johnston, Iowa. The State Staff Judge Advocate is the senior attorney in the Iowa Air National Guard. Seven other attorneys serve in the Iowa Air National Guard in Des Moines and Sioux City.

“This promotion is evidence of the commitment to duty, leadership, and public service that Tony has exhibited throughout his career,” United States Attorney Leif Olson stated. “As both an AUSA and a member of the military, he has served our nation with honor and distinction. The USAO is proud to have him as a member of our team.”

Following four years of duty with the Air Force Reserves, Colonel Morfitt joined the 132d Wing, Iowa Air National Guard, in 2014. The 132d Wing’s missions span the globe and include remotely piloted aircraft, cybersecurity, intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance. Colonel Morfitt advised commanders on matters including military justice, cyber law, and the law of war and armed conflict. He was a key part of the creation of the 168th Cyber Operations Squadron, giving legal guidance on emerging cyber law concerns, including providing cybersecurity support to the State of Iowa during the 2020 elections.

Colonel Morfitt joined the Air Force upon graduating with high distinction and as a member of the Order of the Coif from the University of Iowa College of Law. He served on active duty for more than four years, during which he was trial counsel in more than 20 trials.

Colonel Morfitt’s military awards include two Meritorious Service Medals, three Air and Space Commendation Medals, eight Air and Space Outstanding Unit Awards, and two Air and Space Longevity Service Awards. He is also a graduate of the Air Force’s Air War College and its Air Command and Staff College.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Morfitt has handled a number of significant cases. He received a Director’s Award from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for his prosecutions of three murders committed on the Meskwaki Settlement. He was also a member of the team prosecuting the mastermind behind the “Field of Schemes” fraud, which caused $120 million in losses and was the largest organic-fraud case in U.S. history. His recent cases include the prosecution of Gordon Grabau, a former volunteer reserve sheriff who possessed nearly 170,000 child-pornography files, and Cardel Redmond, who was sentenced to more than fifty-five years in prison for a twelve-day spree of armed robberies.

Soldiers and airmen serving in the Iowa National Guard receive the same training as their active-duty counterparts, and serve across the state through drilling status on weekends, during annual training, or full-time through various programs. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act protects Guardsmen’s employment and civil rights, as well as those of members of the military’s various reserve components. The U.S. Department of Labor investigates complaints of violations of those rights, which are prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices.

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Shawn Zak, 32, from Carroll, Iowa, pled guilty February 11, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and illegal possession of a firearm.

At the plea hearing, Zak admitted that from June 2025 through September 2025, he and others conspired to distribute more than 1500 grams of methamphetamine in the Carroll, Iowa, area.  On September 11, 2025, Zak was approached by law enforcement based on an active warrant for his arrest.  At the time Zak provided a false name to officers and he was arrested.  During his arrest, Zak had a brief, physical struggle with law enforcement.  Law enforcement seized 53.19 grams of pure methamphetamine, some marijuana, .22 caliber ammunition, indicia of drug dealing including baggies, syringes, and scale weights from the vehicle.  Zak admitted he planned to distribute the methamphetamine to others.  Law enforcement later recovered a .22 caliber handgun which Zak possessed in the vehicle in which he was stopped.  Zak further admitted he received the .22 caliber handgun from another person earlier in September 2025.

Zak was previously convicted of burglary in January 2023 in Iowa and criminal trespass in Pennsylvania in 2017.  The felony convictions prohibited Zak from possessing a firearm.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Zak remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Zak faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Iowa DCI Laboratory.  

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

The case file number is 25-3049.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Jorge Monrroy, 24, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty February 5, 2026, in federal court to one count of sexual exploitation of a child.

At the plea hearing, Monrroy admitted that between June 30 and July 2, 2025, he sexually exploited a minor female.  Monrroy admitted to providing alcohol to the minor, getting her intoxicated, recording a video of the two having sexual intercourse on the minor child’s phone, and sending the video to himself.  Evidence further showed that Monrroy received, possessed, and distributed child pornography.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Monrroy remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Monrroy faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 25-4050.  

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Jesus Aranda-Martinez, 24, from Mexico, pled guilty on February 6, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to one charge of possession of child pornography.  Aranda-Martinez is a citizen of Mexico and is currently pending removal from the United States.   

At the plea hearing, Aranda-Martinez admitted that from April 2024 through July 2025, he received, distributed and possessed child pornography.  Aranda-Martinez admitted using apps such as TamTam, ICQ, Mega, and Telegram.  He further admitted to liking females in middle school or younger.  Aranda-Martinez admitted he had received child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over the internet including depictions of children having sex with adults.  A forensic review of Aranda-Martinez’s phone showed he engaged in distribution to “send to receive” groups and that he possessed at least 62 images and 42 videos of child pornography.  The images and videos involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct with prepubescent minors. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Aranda-Martinez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Aranda-Martinez faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and the Rock Valley Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 25-4053.  

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A woman who purchased three firearms for her fourteen-year-old grandson was sentenced on February 4, 2026, to five years of probation.

Virginia Prescott, age 64, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the sentence after a July 29, 2025, guilty plea to false statement during purchase of firearm.

Information from a plea agreement and sentencing proceedings showed that Prescott bought three handguns from a licensed firearms dealer in Cedar Falls between March and August 2024.  Prescott lied on forms during these purchases, claiming that she was the actual buyer of the guns.  The guns were for Prescott’s fourteen-year-old grandson, who was not old enough to purchase or possess firearms.  All three guns were recovered by law enforcement officers in connection with criminal activity.  One gun was linked by ballistics testing to a shots-fired incident that occurred in Waterloo on August 3, 2024. 

On October 1, 2024, law enforcement agents searched Prescott’s home.  She reported that her grandson, who lived in the same household, had threatened to destroy her property and kill her dog if she did not buy a gun for him.  Prescott’s grandson was on state probation when she bought guns for him.      

Prescott was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Prescott was sentenced to five years of federal probation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.

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

The case file number is 25-CR-2042. 

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Robert J. Fundermann, 50, from Anthon, Iowa, pled guilty February 5, 2026, to one count of distribution of child pornography, in federal court in Sioux City.

At the plea hearing, Fundermann admitted that from about April 2023 through April 2025, he distributed and attempted to distribute visual depictions of child pornography.  Evidence further showed that Fundermann was grooming a 17-year-old in order to obtain images and videos of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  A forensic review of Fundermann’s phone showed he possessed 54 images and 98 videos of child pornography, involving material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct as well as prepubescent children and toddlers.  The investigation in the case also revealed that Fundermann was previously investigated for soliciting nude images from a minor in 2019.  He successfully completed a deferred judgement in that case to a charge of Disseminating Obscene Material to Minor -1st Offense in 2020.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Fundermann remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Fundermann faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 25-4039.  

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A woman who trafficked methamphetamine in the Waterloo area was sentenced February 4, 2026, to 20 years in federal prison.

Michelle Bruno, age 51, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 7, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that, in May 2024, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force investigators made a controlled delivery of methamphetamine to Bruno.  After the delivery, Bruno was in possession of four pounds of methamphetamine that she received during the controlled delivery and two additional ounces.  Bruno had received approximately twelve pounds of methamphetamine over the past several months from her source of supply.  She also sent over $25,000 to her source of supply.  A few months later, investigators had contact with Bruno again.  She admitted to acquiring another kilogram of methamphetamine and that she had paid her source of supply over $5,000 to satisfy her debt.

Bruno was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Bruno was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment.  She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of the

Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.

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

The case file number is 25-cr-2033-2.

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A man who conspired to distribute meth and illegally possessed a firearm pled guilty February 2, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City. 

Seann Mackey, 31, from Mount Pleasant, Iowa admitted that between June 2024 and December 2024, he was involved in a conspiracy that distributed at least 1500 grams of mixed methamphetamine which contained at least 150 grams of pure methamphetamine.  On December 20, 2024, law enforcement apprehended Mackey after he operated a motor vehicle in a high-speed/reckless driving filled chase.  Then during a foot pursuit, Mackey was observed throwing a firearm.  Law enforcement seized methamphetamine, numerous empty baggies and a digital scale from Mackey, along with a Glock 9mm handgun. 

Mackey had three prior convictions for drug offenses, and a conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon. Each of these convictions prohibit Mackey from possessing any firearm and also enhance his sentencing penalties. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Mackey remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Mackey faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $8,250,000 fine, and at least eight years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.  

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

The case file number is 25-4006.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man who distributed child pornography was sentenced on February 3, 3026, to more than 12 years in federal prison.

Curtis Lellig, age 42, of Independence, Iowa, received the sentence after an August 25, 2025, guilty plea to one count of distribution of child pornography.  At the plea hearing, Lellig admitted that, between December 2022 and January 2024, he knowingly distributed child pornography.

Lellig was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Lellig was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $66,000 in restitution to 20 victims depicted in the child pornography he possessed.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.   

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Independence Police Department, and the Iowa State Patrol.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 25-2020.

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A felon who resisted police officers while in possession of a firearm was sentenced on February 2, 2026, to more than eight years in federal prison.

           Orrington Alexander Gardner, age 41, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 17, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Information from sentencing and a related supervised release hearing showed that Gardner was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in the Northern District of Iowa in 2009.  The district court sentenced him to the statutory maximum sentence of ten years for that offense.  Gardner was released from federal prison in late June 2022.  Less than three months later, Waterloo police officers received information that Gardner had a gun.  On September 14, 2022, officers followed Gardner from his home and pulled over a car in which he was a passenger.  An officer repeatedly asked Gardner to step out of the car, and he refused.  Gardner began to roll up his window, and the officer opened the car door and attempted to grab Gardner’s hands.  Gardner resisted the officer and reached towards his waistband where he had a loaded gun.  After a struggle over Gardner’s hands, officers managed to take the gun from Gardner’s waistband and arrest him.    

Gardner was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Gardner was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Gardner is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.  

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

The case file number is 24-CR-2044.

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A man who possessed and distributed methamphetamine was sentenced January 29, 2026, to more than 17 years in federal prison.

Nicholas Armstrong, age 31, from Elk Run Heights, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 4, 2025, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that law enforcement officers purchased methamphetamine from Armstrong four times.  After the buys, officers searched Armstrong’s home.  They located over 350 grams of methamphetamine, multiple scales, packaging material, and three guns.  About two months later, officers attempted to arrest Armstrong, but he fled from them.  Officers caught Armstrong and found over 80 grams of methamphetamine on him.  At the time of this arrest, Armstrong was on parole for another drug-related conviction.

Armstrong was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Armstrong was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.

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

The case file number is 25-cr-2002.

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A man who laundered $20,000 in fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) moneys was sentenced January 30, 2026, to 33 months in federal prison.  Don Edward Williams, Jr., age 32, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 28, 2025, guilty plea to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with proceeds of a specified unlawful activity.  

In a plea agreement, Williams admitted he obtained $20,833 by means of a fraudulent PPP loan in May 2021.  Williams’ PPP loan application falsely represented that he had earned over $100,000 in gross income during 2019 from a construction business.

A lender participating in the PPP deposited $20,833 into an account that Williams controlled at a credit union in Cedar Rapids.  By 9:00 a.m. that morning, Williams had withdrawn $20,000 of the PPP money in cash.  Over the next three days, Williams made an additional $390 in cash withdrawals and spent the remaining government money at a crab shack and a smoke shop.

In March 2022, Williams submitted a PPP loan forgiveness application to the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which oversaw and guaranteed the PPP.  Williams’ forgiveness application falsely stated that Williams had spent the PPP money on payroll expenses, and the SBA forgave the loan.

When federal agents interviewed Williams about his PPP loan in January 2025, Williams repeatedly denied any knowledge of the PPP loan or withdrawing money from a credit union.  Eventually, Williams confessed to withdrawing the PPP money from his account.

Williams has an extensive and violent criminal history.  Williams has 18 prior adult convictions, including 11 committed while on probation or parole.  Williams has four prior domestic abuse assault convictions, including a 2024 incident in which he slapped his girlfriend in the face, pushed her to the ground, grabbed her by her wig, drug her across the floor causing a rug burn, choked her, and punched her head.  Williams fled the scene when law enforcement arrived.  When officers ultimately found Williams, he refused their orders to stop, and Williams injured an officer during an ensuing physical struggle.  Williams’ other convictions in state court include illegal firearms possession, interference with official acts, attempted eluding, false identification, theft, drugs, and burglary.

While on release in his federal case, Williams participated in a fraudulent scheme to defraud an Iowa county treasurer’s office.  Williams agreed to register and title a car in his own name even though the car belonged to a felon who was barred from driving.  After the felon was cited for driving while barred, Williams agreed to re-register and re-title the car in the name of a third individual so that the barred felon could continue to drive it.  Later, the felon was arrested for allegedly driving while under the influence.  Williams’ federal release bond was revoked after the scheme was discovered.

Williams was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Williams was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $20,833 in restitution to the SBA.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Williams is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-32.

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A man who came to the United States in 2013 and claimed asylum was sentenced Friday for his involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the government.

Joseph Longanga Okoko, age 69, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, received the prison term on January 30, 2026, after a guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the United States.

In June 2013, Okoko entered the United States on a visa and later applied for asylum.  He then petitioned for several of his children, who were living in Congo, to join him in the United States.  In his application, Okoko listed one of his children as unmarried.  In a plea agreement, Okoko admitted that in May 2019 his child married Bienvenu Saido Binyangi prior to coming to the United States.  Okoko never updated his petition to show that his child was married.  Additionally, when filing out an application to adjust his status, Okoko falsely stated that he had never been charged with, committed, or convicted of a crime.  However, on December 5, 2019, Okoko was convicted of disorderly conduct, fighting, or violent behavior, in Black Hawk County, Iowa.

Okoko also admitted to assisting individuals in the Congo to illegally enter the United States.  Okoko provided false information in immigration paperwork, and assisted diversity visa lottery winners in entering fake marriages so they could enter the United States illegally.  Okoko also paid for people to enter the United States but then required repayment at a hundred to three hundred percent of his cost.

Okoko was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Okoko was sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment and fined $10,000.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Okoko was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on a date yet to be set.  Medard Lotahe Elonge, Joseph Onolenga Okamba, and Bienvenu Saido Binyangi, who were charged in the same indictment and have also pled guilty to crimes in the indictment, have yet to be sentenced. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew J. Cole and Nicole L. Nagin and was investigated by the Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Postal Inspection, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Waterloo Police Department, the Sioux City Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

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.

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

The case file number is 24-CR-2052.

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Aaron StandsAndLooksBack, a/k/a Aaron Woodman, 42, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was sentenced on January 29, 2026, to 300 months’ imprisonment.  StandsAndLooksBack pled guilty June 4, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that between December 2020 and December 2023, StandsAndLooksBack and others conspired to distribute at least 45 kilograms of methamphetamine.  Evidence also showed that StandsAndLooksBack obtained methamphetamine, by buying or stealing it from sources to distribute to others.  StandsAndLooksBack specifically admitted that he stole sizable amounts of methamphetamine from his mother, who was also sentenced to federal prison for methamphetamine trafficking, then re-distributed the methamphetamine to others in the Fort Dodge, Iowa area.    

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  StandsAndLooksBack was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment and must serve a term of five years of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  StandsAndLooksBack remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Fort Dodge Iowa Police Department, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa DCI Laboratory.  

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

The case file number is 24-3053.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man who illegally possessed nearly three kilograms of methamphetamine was sentenced January 28, 2026, to more than twelve years in federal prison.

Marcos Servin, age 23, from Marshalltown, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 3, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that law enforcement officers stopped Servin as he was driving on October 23, 2024.  During the traffic stop, a narcotic detection K9 positively indicated the presence of an odor of a controlled substance within Servin’s car.  Officers searched Servin’s car and located over 900 grams of ice methamphetamine.  Law enforcement officers later searched a Des Moines home that Servin had left earlier that day.  Officers located over 1,900 grams of ice methamphetamine inside the home.  

Servin was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Servin was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.

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

The case file number is 24-CR-97.

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Nichole Marie Schmidt, age 43, from Galesburg, Illinois, was sentenced today to over 25 years in federal prison. 

Schmidt received the prison term after a June 3, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute over 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and 50 grams of pure methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice.”            

Evidence at the sentencing showed that between February 2024 and September 2024, Schmidt received pound quantities of methamphetamine from her source in Chicago, Illinois.  Schmidt then distributed the methamphetamine to others in Iowa, knowing they would redistribute the drugs throughout the state.

In September 2024, Schmidt met her ex-husband in Davenport, Iowa,

where Schmidt rented a car.  Schmidt’s ex-husband drove the rental car to Chicago, where he picked up drugs and a gun for Schmidt and a co-conspirator.  Schmidt’s ex-husband then returned to Davenport, where he gave the drugs and gun to Schmidt and the co-conspirator.  Shortly thereafter, law enforcement officers stopped the car Schmidt was driving.  Her co-conspirator was in the passenger seat.  During a search of the car, officers found approximately 12 pounds of pure methamphetamine, oxycodone, LSD, MDMA, cocaine, marijuana, and a loaded gun.  Schmidt admitted that she intended to distribute the drugs to people throughout Iowa.  In total, the court found Schmidt’s role in the conspiracy involved over 9,000,000 kilograms of converted drug weight, which included over 450 kilograms of pure methamphetamine, an amount the judge described as “astronomical.”  

Schmidt has two prior felony drug convictions, including a prior federal conviction for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.  

Schmidt was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Schmidt was sentenced to 304 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery, and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dubuque Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 25-CR-1021. 

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Nichole Marie Schmidt, age 43, from Galesburg, Illinois, was sentenced today to over 25 years in federal prison. 

Schmidt received the prison term after a June 3, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute over 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, and 50 grams of pure methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice.”            

Evidence at the sentencing showed that between February 2024 and September 2024, Schmidt received pound quantities of methamphetamine from her source in Chicago, Illinois.  Schmidt then distributed the methamphetamine to others in Iowa, knowing they would redistribute the drugs throughout the state.

In September 2024, Schmidt met her ex-husband in Davenport, Iowa,

where Schmidt rented a car.  Schmidt’s ex-husband drove the rental car to Chicago, where he picked up drugs and a gun for Schmidt and a co-conspirator.  Schmidt’s ex-husband then returned to Davenport, where he gave the drugs and gun to Schmidt and the co-conspirator.  Shortly thereafter, law enforcement officers stopped the car Schmidt was driving.  Her co-conspirator was in the passenger seat.  During a search of the car, officers found approximately 12 pounds of pure methamphetamine, oxycodone, LSD, MDMA, cocaine, marijuana, and a loaded gun.  Schmidt admitted that she intended to distribute the drugs to people throughout Iowa.  In total, the court found Schmidt’s role in the conspiracy involved over 9,000,000 kilograms of converted drug weight, which included over 450 kilograms of pure methamphetamine, an amount the judge described as “astronomical.”  

Schmidt has two prior felony drug convictions, including a prior federal conviction for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.  

Schmidt was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Schmidt was sentenced to 304 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery, and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dubuque Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 25-CR-1021. 

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A Honduran citizen who illegally reentered the United States and cut off an ankle monitor and fled after getting caught was sentenced today to a year in federal prison.

Oscar Lopez-Martinez, age 46, from Honduras, received the prison term after a November 5, 2025, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry.

Information at sentencing showed that Lopez-Martinez was arrested for OWI in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in December 2022.  After he was in the Linn County jail, ICE officers arrested Lopez-Martinez for having reentered the country illegally.  Lopez-Martinez had been removed from the country six times.  He was also convicted of illegal entry in 2016 in federal court in Arizona.

Lopez-Martinez was released pending his trial for illegal reentry.  An ankle monitor was placed on him so that the probation office could monitor his location.  Days after being released, Lopez-Martinez cut off the ankle monitor and fled.  His whereabouts were unknown until he was arrested by the United States Marshals Service in September 2025.

Lopez-Martinez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Lopez-Martinez was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations and the United States Marshals Service.  

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

The case file number is 22-cr-101.

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 A financial planner who failed to file income tax returns for eight years after failing to do so for seven earlier years was sentenced today to three months in federal prison.

Matthew Westberry, age 43, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 22, 2025, guilty plea to two counts of failure to file a tax return.

In a plea agreement, Westberry admitted that he did not file a tax return from 2006 to 2012.  After being contacted by tax authorities in 2013, Westberry filed delinquent returns for those years and a tax return for 2013.  However, he did not pay the income tax he owed for 2008 through 2013.

After filing a tax return in 2013, Westberry stopped filing tax returns.  He did not file a tax return for any year between 2014 and 2021.  During those years, Westberry had gross income of nearly $1,500,000 from his work as a financial planner.  He paid no income tax on those earnings during those years.  Westberry should have paid more than $250,000 in federal income tax for that income.

As a result of his failure to pay income taxes for 2008 to 2013, the IRS placed two liens on a piece of property Westberry had agreed to purchase.  Westberry did not go through with the purchase but did not have the liens removed from the property.  When the property owner tried to sell the property to someone else, the owner discovered the IRS liens in Westberry’s name.  To get the liens off the property, Westberry filed false lien releases with the Linn County Recorder’s Office.  He prepared the lien releases to look like they came from the IRS.  Westberry was convicted of forgery in state court for filing the false lien releases.

Westberry was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States Magistrate Judge Mark Roberts.  Westberry was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.  Once he is released from prison, he will have to serve an additional three months of home confinement.  He was ordered to make $264,502 in restitution to the IRS.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  Westberry had paid approximately $36,000 towards restitution prior to his sentencing.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Westberry was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.  

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

The case file number is 25-cr-00054.

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U.S. Attorney Leif Olson announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa collected almost $27 million on behalf of federal taxpayers in Fiscal Year 2025. This amount is made up of civil and criminal debts owed to the federal government, restitution to be paid to victims of crime, and assets forfeited because they were used in criminal activity.

The Office collected $2,675,113.02 in criminal actions, $23,640,993.02 in civil actions, and $647,230 in forfeited assets. The forfeited assets, $9,163,842.42 in civil cases, and $2,668,589.60 in criminal cases were recovered by the Office alone. The remaining amounts were recovered jointly with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice.          

“Holding wrongdoers responsible for their actions is a crucial part of our mission,” Olson said. “That means making sure that people make good on the amounts they owe to the federal government, especially criminals who’ve been ordered to pay fines and victim restitution. We will continue to work diligently to collect money for the federal treasury and return money to victims of crime.”

U.S. Attorney’s Offices are among the Department of Justice components responsible for enforcing and collecting debts owed to the federal government and criminal debts owed to victims of federal crimes. Those convicted of certain federal crimes must pay restitution to victims who suffered a physical or financial injury. Criminal fines and assessments go to the Department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes funds to federal and state victim-compensation and victim-assistance programs. Forfeited assets go to the Department’s Assets Forfeiture Fund, which is used for crime victims and a variety of other law-enforcement purposes.

A Cedar Rapids man who possessed a gun after having five felony convictions and a conviction for a misdemeanor domestic abuse offense was sentenced January 26, 2026, to seven and a half years in federal prison.  

Kirby Joe Truesdell, age 48, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a jury verdict finding him guilty of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  The jury verdict came after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.  

The evidence at trial showed that on November 25, 2024, Truesdell was seen in an unoccupied home in Cedar Rapids.  When police officers arrived on scene to investigate, they found Truesdell coming out of the detached garage.  Truesdell was not cooperative with officers, and they took him into custody.  Officers found a loaded revolver inside a backpack in Truesdell’s possession.  Truesdell was previously convicted of five felony offenses, including OWI 3rd Offense, burglary, theft, and forgery.  He was also previously convicted of assault causing bodily injury - domestic abuse-penalty enhanced.

Truesdell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Truesdell was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.         

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.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily Nydle and Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Department with assistance from the US Marshal Service and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.  

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

The case file number is 25-cr-00006.

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A man who possessed with the intent to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced January 27, 2026, to more than 16 years in federal prison.

Mark Allen Mendenhall, age 53, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 16, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of pure methamphetamine.  

At the plea and sentencing hearings, Mendenhall admitted that on September 19, 2024, in Dickinson County, Iowa, he knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute approximately 40 grams of pure methamphetamine.  At that time, despite being a fugitive from the Iowa Department of Corrections, Mendenhall was working as a patient transport driver.  While driving a patient to an appointment, he crossed the center lane and struck a semitruck.  After being transported to a local hospital, he was found to have approximately 40 grams of pure methamphetamine concealed on his body.  A search of the vehicle he was driving revealed syringes, fake identification cards, fake United States currency, and other indicia of drug use.  Mendenhall has an extensive criminal history which includes 24 prior convictions, spanning over 25 years.  Due to having at least two prior felony convictions that are crimes of violence or controlled substance offenses, Mendenhall was categorized for sentencing purposes as a career offender.    

Mendenhall was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Mendenhall was sentenced to 199 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Spirit Lake Police Department and the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  
The case file number is 24-CR-04082.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
 

Starr Ledford, 43, from Manson and Atlantic, Iowa, was sentenced on January 21, 2026, to 60 months’ imprisonment.  Ledford pled guilty July 22, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from January 2024 through May 2024, Ledford and others were involved in a conspiracy that distributed at least three pounds of pure methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge, Iowa, area.  Evidence further showed that on two occasions in April 2024, Ledford distributed a total of more than 300 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.  In May 2024, law enforcement conducted surveillance of Ledford as she traveled to Omaha, Nebraska and it was later determined she obtained about ½ pound of methamphetamine from her source of supply in Omaha.  Ledford obtained methamphetamine multiple times from her source in Omaha to re-distribute in and around Fort Dodge. 

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Ledford to 60 months’ imprisonment.  Ledford must serve a three-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Ledford remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until she can be transported to a federal prison.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Iowa DCI Laboratory.  

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The case file number is 25-3006.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Bryce White, 42, from Dow City, Iowa, pled guilty January 21, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City, to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography.

At the plea hearing, White admitted that between August 1, 2023, and August 2024, he coerced minor females into sending him depictions of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  White used Snapchat to pose as a minor and solicited and received nude images and videos of minor females from across the United States and overseas.  In September 2023, a Midland, Michigan, law enforcement agency began investigating White based on a complaint from a minor female’s parents.  The parents discovered inappropriate messages on Snapchat between their daughter and White.  Law enforcement traced the Snapchat account back to White in Dow City.  Agents in Iowa obtained and executed search warrants for White’s electronics.  Forensic examination revealed 14 videos, 180 images of child sexual abuse material, and over 20,000 images of child erotica in White’s possession.  The images and videos involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct as well as prepubescent children and toddlers.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  White remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  White faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Midland County Michigan Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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The case file number is 24-4079.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Andrew Gross, 42, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced on January 16, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City. Gross pled guilty September 11, 2025, to possession of child pornography. 

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Sioux City Police received a report from the parents of a 15-year-old that Gross was having conversations with their child that were sexual in nature. Further investigation revealed that Gross and the minor victim discussed sexually explicit messages which also contained photographs of the minor victim. Evidence also showed that Gross received child pornography from April 1–May 14, 2024, and that Gross possessed thousands of other images and videos of child pornography on his cell phone. In 2021, Gross had been convicted of offenses relating to aggravated sexual abuse involving a minor in Minnesota.    

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Gross to 120 months’ imprisonment and a 5-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Gross must also pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims of his crimes and an additional $1,100 in fines and assessments. Gross remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by Sioux City and South Sioux City Police Departments and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

Court file information is at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 25-4021. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Daniel Kaler, 38, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced today to 64 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty on September 8, 2025, to possessing child pornography.  

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from November 2023 to October 2024, Kaler received and possessed over 7,000 images and videos of child pornography.  The images and videos involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct, as well as prepubescent children, infants, and toddlers.  A CyberTip from Verizon’s cloud storage company to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children connected downloads of child pornography to Kaler’s account.  Law enforcement officers searched Kaler’s electronic devices pursuant to a search warrant.  Analysis of Kaler’s devices showed he utilized third-party web browsers called “Brave” and “Yandex” to search for and download child pornography.  

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Kaler was sentenced to 64 months’ imprisonment, and he must serve a term of five-years of supervised release following imprisonment.  He was ordered to pay $6,600 in fines and restitution.  Kaler remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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The case file number is 25-4016.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A former Storm Lake city employee was sentenced today to seven years’ imprisonment for possessing child pornography.  

Brian Oakleaf, age 52, from Storm Lake, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 9, 2025, guilty plea to two counts of possession of child pornography.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, from March 1, 2022, through July 29, 2024, Oakleaf received, distributed, and possessed child pornography, including depictions involving prepubescent minors, on two separate cell phones.  In May 2024, law enforcement officers were investigating an online filesharing program and directed their focus on an IP address that was sharing child sexual abuse material.  Investigators focused on the owner of the IP address, which led them to Oakleaf, a Storm Lake city employee. 

On July 29, 2024, investigators searched Oakleaf’s home and his office at the Storm Lake City Hall.  Officers seized cell phones and electronic devices.  Analysis of Oakleaf’s devices showed that he used the filesharing program investigators were targeting.  He also searched for many known child exploitation search terms to obtain child sexual abuse material.  Evidence further showed that Oakleaf had used the alias Dan Dyle to look at and trade child sexual abuse material. 

In the plea agreement, Oakleaf admitted he possessed a video that was over 90 minutes in length and over 20,000 images of child sexual abuse material on his two phones.  The videos and images included depictions of toddlers, bondage, and sadistic and masochistic conduct.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Oakleaf was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment and must serve a five-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Oakleaf must also pay $54,000 in restitution to the victims in this case and an additional $1,200 in fines and assessments.  Oakleaf remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.

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

The case file number is 25-4020. 

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A man who distributed methamphetamine was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison.

Jared Stuart Stratton, age 46, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 20, 2025, guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.

Information from the sentencing hearing showed that Stratton sold methamphetamine on three separate occasions between September and October of 2024 to an individual who was working with law enforcement.

Stratton was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Stratton was sentenced to 80 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.  HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. 

This HSTF case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

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

The case file number is 25-CR-44.

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A man who recorded himself sexually abusing a child was sentenced today to 40 years in federal prison.

Kevin Patrick Sullivan, age 43, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 20, 2025, guilty plea to sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. 

Evidence at sentencing showed that between 2013 and 2015, Sullivan recorded himself sexually abusing a child and recorded the child when the child was nude.  Sullivan stored these recordings on hard drives, which law enforcement officers found when they searched his home in January 2025.  Sullivan physically and sexually abused the child in numerous other ways between 2005 and 2016.  Between 2013 and January 2025, Sullivan also received and possessed thousands of images and videos of child pornography, including depictions involving infants and sadistic and masochistic conduct.

Sullivan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  He was sentenced to 480 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to make $15,000 in restitution.  He must also serve a 5-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 Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-30.

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A Waterloo man who possessed a firearm while also possessing drugs that he intended to distribute was sentenced today to more than eight years in federal prison.

Darius Caston, age 33, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 28, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

In a plea agreement, Caston admitted that officers found marijuana, methamphetamine, and a stolen and loaded gun in Caston’s car after stopping him on January 1, 2025.  Caston admitted that he intended to distribute the marijuana and methamphetamine that was in the car.  Caston also admitted that it was illegal for him to possess a gun because he had previously been convicted of a felony offense.   

Caston was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Caston was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-56.

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A Dubuque man who possessed and distributed fentanyl was sentenced today to five years in federal prison.

Justin Jawuan Members, age 28, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 29, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

In a plea agreement, Members admitted that law enforcement officers saw him distribute fentanyl twice.  After the distributions, law enforcement officers searched a home that Members stayed at and located over 300 fentanyl pills and a firearm.  

Members was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Members was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-1022.

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A woman who illegally possessed a stolen gun after being convicted of a felony offense was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison.

Daisha Rae Bradshaw, age 33, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 12, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

At the guilty plea, Bradshaw admitted she illegally possessed a gun on May 16, 2025.  On that date, police located a stolen gun and methamphetamine in her purse during a traffic stop.  Bradshaw was prohibited from possessing firearms because of felony convictions from 2017 and 2018.  She has prior convictions for assault, including assaulting police officers, domestic abuse assault, and felony theft.  Bradshaw also has multiple convictions for eluding, where she led officers on high-speed car chases that involved traveling at speeds exceeding the posted speed limit by 25 mph, driving on the wrong direction of an exit ramp off of Interstate 380, and ending in vehicle collisions.   

Bradshaw was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Bradshaw was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment.  She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  In imposing the sentence, Judge Strand noted Bradshaw’s criminal history was “relentless and obnoxious” and that “it was amazing she hasn’t killed somebody.”  

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

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

The case file number is 25-cr-0066.

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A man who shot at another person was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison.

Anthony Isiah Pennell, age 28, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 30, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Information from the sentencing hearing showed that, on October 9, 2024, in a mall parking lot in Cedar Rapids, Pennell fired a gun.  Following an argument between an individual who was with Pennell and another person, Pennell grabbed a gun out of a purse belonging to a woman who he was also with, and he began shooting at the other person.  Pennell’s gunfire hit the back of the other person’s car, and it also hit another car that was parked in the parking lot.  As officers were responding to the shooting, they saw Pennell running from the area.  Pennell threw the gun into a storm drain as he was running.  Pennell was prohibited from possessing firearms based on a prior assault-related felony conviction from 2018. 

Pennell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Pennell was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  

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

The case file number is 25-CR-10.

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A convicted domestic abuser who possessed guns illegally was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.

Chad Michael Newell, age 51, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 4, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a person convicted of domestic violence.

In 2020, Newell was convicted of domestic abuse assault by strangulation and domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury.  Based on these convictions, Newell was prohibited from possessing guns.  On February 11, 2025, police searched Newell’s garage and located three guns in Newell’s inside a car.  Two of the guns had a magazine with a 30-round capacity.   

Newell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Newell was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Newell was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Waterloo Police Department. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. 

On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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

The case file number is 25-CR-02029.

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A man who was flying from Omaha to Detroit who disrupted the flight, causing the plane to divert to Cedar Rapids and make an emergency landing, was sentenced today to more than a year in federal prison.

Mario Nikprelaj, age 24, from Shelby Township, Michigan, received the prison term after a September 23, 2025, guilty plea to one count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

Information at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, on July 17, 2025, Nikprelaj boarded a plane in Omaha, Nebraska, bound for Detroit, Michigan.  Even before the plane left the gate, Nikprelaj began making disruptive and rude statements to passengers and flight crew.  Nikprelaj refused to put his seatbelt on, but a flight attendant eventually convinced him to do so and the plane took off.

Once in the air, Nikprelaj began disrupting the flight and interfering with the flight crew’s performance of their duties.  He repeatedly took off his seat belt and had to be told to put it back on.  He flipped off the flight attendant telling him to put his seat belt on and stood up repeatedly while the plane was ascending.  Eventually, Nikprelaj poked the flight attendant in the chest.  The flight attendant told Nikprelaj that the flight attendant would report him to law enforcement.  Nikprelaj threatened to kill the flight attendant.

Eventually, Nikprelaj appeared to have fallen asleep in his seat.  The two flight attendants began service for the passengers.  However, several passengers pressed their emergency call buttons when Nikprelaj began manipulating the emergency exit door near his seat.  Passengers believed he was trying to open the door.  The flight attendant Nikprelaj had threated, who was 80 years old, approached him again to stop him.  Nikprelaj pushed the flight attendant away, swore at the flight attendant, and continued to threaten to kill him.

After this incident was reported to him, the captain of the plane decided to make an emergency landing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  As the plane was descending, Nikprelaj again stood up, took his shirt off, and began walking up and down the aisle.  The flight crew asked for help from the passengers.  Three passengers approached Nikprelaj, and he became belligerent with them.  Nikprelaj took a swing at them.  He eventually returned to his seat.  While the plane was landing, Nikprelaj continued to flip off the flight attendant and other passengers.

Officers from the Cedar Rapids Police Department were waiting for the plane to land.  After it landed, they boarded the plane and took Nikprelaj into custody.  When officers searched him, they found a prescription bottle containing 41 pills of purported Xanax.  The prescription on the bottle was not in Nikprelaj’s name.

Nikprelaj has a criminal history including a conviction for assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer.  In that situation, Nikprelaj ran from, resisted even when tasered, and fought with law enforcement officers.  He also has convictions for domestic violence, disorderly conduct, breaking and entering, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Nikprelaj was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Nikprelaj was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Eastern Iowa Airport Public Safety Department. 

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

The case file number is 25-CR-61.

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A man who received child pornography was sentenced on January 9, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.

Wesley Ham, 32, from Arthur, Iowa, pled guilty on August 20, 2025, to receipt of child pornography.  At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that between March 2022, and September 2023, Ham received and possessed more than 94 images and 79 videos of child pornography.  A forensic review of Ham’s computer and phone showed he possessed 370 images and 99 videos of child pornography, some of which included infants and toddlers as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct.  Ham admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography. Ham also admitted to distributing child pornography in a state of Iowa case in 2022.  In connection with his 2022 case, Ham admitted to lingering around coffee shops and other public spaces in attempts to generate encounters with minor children and admitted to being on bike trails in residential areas in hopes of finding people in their houses to secretly watch them.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Ham was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment and must serve a 5-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Ham must also pay $10,500 in restitution to the victims in this case.  Ham remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (Cyber Crime Bureau) and the Ida County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 25-3017.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Victor Villarreal, 30, from Sioux City, was sentenced today, to more than 3 years in federal prison, after a September 16, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence in the case revealed on May 3, 2025, Villarreal, the mother of his children, and others went out for dinner and drinks, leaving Villarreal’s minor children under the care of a 15-year old babysitter.  He became intoxicated, agitated, and returned home.  When the mother of the children attempted to stop Villarreal from driving the children away while he was intoxicated, he became violent and pulled a gun.  The babysitter called 911 for help.  In the early morning hours of May 4, 2025, law enforcement responded to the report of an angry, intoxicated, man waving a firearm in the air and threatening others, including minors.  Villarreal fled the scene in another person’s car prior to officers’ arrival.  Law enforcement learned he was a felon and also subject to an active no contact order both of which precluded his lawful possession of a firearm.  Officers found Villarreal, attempted to stop him, but he fled leading officers on a pursuit.  Villarreal drove through residential neighborhoods in Sioux City at a high rate of speed, eventually hitting a wooden fence where he exited the vehicle and was taken into custody.  

Villarreal was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 37 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.

Villarreal 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 Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This case 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 25-4044.

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A man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced on January 8, 2026, to 30 months’ imprisonment.

Taxavier Ford, 29, from Alta, Iowa, pled guilty on August 11, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Ford was previously convicted of possession of a narcotic drug, in the State of Indiana in 2017, and possession of marijuana, with intent to deliver and possession of a firearm by a felon, in the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County in 2021.  Both of these convictions prohibit a person from possessing any firearm.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on March 14, 2025, in Storm Lake, Iowa, law enforcement observed a vehicle, driven by Ford, with illegal window tint and initiated a traffic stop.  Officers measured the window tint which revealed it was in excess of Iowa state law.  When measuring the window tint, officers smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.  During a search of the vehicle and Ford, officers found a metal object in Ford’s waistline.  Ford admitted he had a loaded firearm in his waistline. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) 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).

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Ford was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Ford remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

  The case was investigated by the Storm Lake Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 25-4028.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.