State no-Contact order leads to federal gun conviction
Contact: Peter Deegan
A Springville man who ignored a state court order to turn in his guns when he was subject to a domestic abuse no-contact order is now a felon and was sentenced July 20, 2010, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Robert Bena, age 46, from Springville, Iowa, was sentenced to a fine and probation after a March 22, 2010, guilty plea to one count of possession of firearms by a person subject to a domestic abuse no-contact order.
A no-contact court order in a domestic abuse case in Linn County, Iowa, was issued against Bena on November 15, 2009, after he was charged with kicking his wife in the ribs. As part of the order, Bena was to turn all his guns over to the Cedar Rapids Police Department or Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
In January 2010, information was received about possible threats Bena was making about shooting his wife and himself. A check with the Cedar Rapids Police Department and Linn County Sheriff’s Office showed Bena had not turned in his guns as ordered. Bena was arrested on January 27, 2010, on two state warrants, and a search of his Springville home resulted in the recovery of 14 firearms, another gun, and ammunition.
Under federal law, it is illegal for a person subject to a state domestic abuse no-contact order to possess guns or ammunition. Iowa adopted a similar law effective July 1, 2010.
Bena was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Bena was sentenced to 3 years’ probation and fined $1,000. A special assessment of $100 was also imposed. As part of his probation, he may not use alcohol and is prohibited from entering bars and taverns.
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 Linn County Sheriff’s Office 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 CR 10-07.
