cedar rapids woman to federal prison for lying and buying guns
Contact: Peter Deegan
A woman who lied to gun dealers when she bought 22 guns was sentenced on February 8, 2011, to almost 4 years in federal prison.
Debra Meyer, age 49, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 28, 2010, guilty plea to one charge of making false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer.
In 2008 and 2009, Meyer purchased 21 handguns and one assault rifle from three federally licensed firearms dealers in Cedar Rapids and Marion, Iowa. Each time, Meyer falsely filled out documents required to be prepared and maintained by the firearms dealers where she said she was the actual buyer of the firearms and was not an unlawful user of any controlled substance. In fact, Meyer was a crack user and was buying the firearms for others who were selecting the firearms and paying her or giving her crack cocaine for her buying them. Several of the guns were recovered from gang members in Chicago.
Meyer was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Meyer was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment, and a $100 special assessment 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.
Meyer 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 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 10-3028.
