Marijuana User with loaded handgun to federal prison
Contact: Peter Deegan
A marijuana user who had a loaded handgun in his pocket when he was stopped by Cedar Rapids police officers was sentenced today to almost four years in federal prison.
Robert Carter, 34, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 30, 2010, guilty plea to one count of being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm.
Carter admitted he was an unlawful user of marijuana on August 16, 2008, when he was a passenger in a car that was stopped by the police in Cedar Rapids. A police drug dog alerted earlier to the car, and a police officer saw marijuana on the car’s console. When Carter was ordered out of the car, he attempted to reach around to his back right pants pocket. He did not comply when ordered by police officers to stop and had to be subdued by the officers. A loaded semi-automatic 9mm handgun was recovered from Carter’s pocket. The gun had one round in the chamber and several rounds in the magazine.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an unlawful drug user to possess a firearm or ammunition. There is no such prohibition under Iowa law.
Carter was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Carter was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment, and a special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Carter 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 Bob Teig as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state, and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 09-80.
