sioux city man pleads guilty to gun and drug charges
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man with stolen guns who sold methamphetamine and marijuana pled guilty on June 16, 2010, in federal court in Sioux City.
John Daniel Saul, age 37, from Sioux City, was convicted of seven counts of firearm violations and one count of distributing methamphetamine and marijuana.
At the plea hearing, Saul admitted he possessed stolen firearms at his residence. He removed the serial numbers from several firearms, and used a hack saw to shorten the length of the barrel of one shotgun. An undercover officer purchased nine firearms and 616 rounds of ammunition from Saul. The undercover officer also purchased methamphetamine and marijuana from Saul. Saul stole the firearms during a burglary of a business in Jefferson, South Dakota, and transported the firearms to Sioux City, Iowa.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Saul remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Saul faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, $800 in special assessments, and 6 years to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and 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 Jefferson, South Dakota Police Department; Union County, South Dakota Sheriff’s Office; Sioux City Police Department; and 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 10-CR-4015.
