A marijuana user with eight guns and a marijuana growing operation in his basement was sentenced yesterday to more than six years in federal prison.

Reinhold Speckmeier, age 30, from Mason City, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 9, 2009, guilty plea to of one count of being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms and one count of manufacture of marijuana.

On March 26, 2009, Mason City police were called to Speckmeier’s Mason City home because a friend of Speckmeier accidentally shot and killed himself when the man was playing with one of Speckmeier’s guns. Speckmeier delayed calling police after the shooting while he got rid of marijuana plants he was growing in his basement and also got rid of related evidence. Speckmeier had eight guns, including four handguns and a semi-automatic rifle with a large capacity magazine. Speckmeier was a marijuana user at the time.

Under federal law, it is illegal for an unlawful drug user to possess guns or ammunition. There is no such prohibition under Iowa law.

Speckmeier was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Speckmeier was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment and fined $12,500. Special assessments of $200 were imposed, and he must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Speckmeier surrendered to the United States Marshal and will be held in the 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 Mason City Police Department; Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Return to Top