dunkertom woman gets almost six years for possessing 18 guns
Contact: Peter Deegan
A northeast Iowa woman who had multiple felony convictions when she pawned 18 stolen firearms in June and July 2009 was sentenced May 6, 2010, to almost six years in federal prison.
Leslie Pecenka, age 37, from Dunkerton, Iowa, received the prison term after January 11, 2010, guilty pleas to two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms.
Pecenka admitted she pawned 11 guns in Evansdale, Iowa, between July 1 and 4, 2009, and 7 additional guns in Waterloo, Iowa, between June 29 and July 2, 2009. She stole the firearms, worth well over $1,000, from her father and grandmother. She had prior felony convictions for five counts of Prohibited Acts in Black Hawk County, Iowa, on September 13, 2004; two counts of Prohibited Acts in Black Hawk County, Iowa, on September 13, 2004; Theft by Deception in Grundy County, Iowa, on December 7, 2004; and two counts of Prohibited Acts in Black Hawk County, Iowa, on July 1, 2005.
Pecenka was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Pecenka was sentenced to 70 months’ imprisonment, and a special assessment of $200 was imposed. She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Pecenka is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she 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 Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 09-2029.
