rockwell felon with handgun gets eight years federal prison
Contact: Peter Deegan
A felon who fired a revolver several times near the head of the mother of his children was sentenced today to more than eight years in federal prison.
Joseph Sturges, age 27, from Rockwell, Iowa, received the federal prison term after a September 8, 2009, guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On March 13, 2008, Sturges possessed a .357 handgun after he had been convicted in 2006 of two felony crimes. On March 13, Sturges assaulted his domestic partner and mother of their two children. He pointed the gun at another person at the scene, told the other person to leave, and fired the gun in the air. He hit his domestic partner, kicked her in the head, pulled her hair, and, as she was lying curled up on the ground, pointed a handgun at her. He fired five shots ever closer to her head until the gun ran out of ammunition. His two young children were watching from the residence, and Sturges threatened to kill them if they did not close the window. When Sturges was sentenced in state court for the assault and having the gun, he received probation.
Sturges was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Judge Reade found Sturges “is a danger to the community” and “a high risk to recidivate” and sentenced him to 97 months’ imprisonment. Sturges was given credit for 225 days already served. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Sturges 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 Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 09-3031.
