cedar rapids man to federal prison for being felon and drug user with rifle
Contact: Peter Deegan
A Cedar Rapids man who was a felon and illegal drug user who possessed a rifle when he lived in Marion, Iowa, was sentenced May 6, 2010, to 2½ years in federal prison.
Cecil Howell, age 40, formerly from Marion and now from Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
received the prison term after a December 16, 2009, guilty plea to one count of being a felon and an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.
On August 29, 2007, Marion Police officers executed a search warrant at a residence where Howell had been staying. A .22 rifle was found in a closet. Howell admitted he knew the gun was there and had handled it. He admitted cocaine and marijuana use, and he had prior felony convictions in Cook County, Illinois, for Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance on March 23, 1989, and Possession of a Controlled Substance on August 9, 1990.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an unlawful drug user to possess guns or ammunition. There is no such prohibition under Iowa law.
Howell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Howell was sentenced to 30 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.
Howell 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 Marion 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 09-58.
