cedar rapids marijuana user to federal prison for possessing handgun
Contact: Peter Deegan
A marijuana user who had a loaded handgun in the car he took in for an oil change was sentenced yesterday to more than one year in federal prison.
Conrad Caldwell, Jr., age 25, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 7, 2010, guilty plea to one count of being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm.
On March 2, 2010, Cedar Rapids police were called to a service center in Cedar Rapids after an employee saw a handgun in Caldwell’s car. After a search of the car, an officer found a loaded 9 mm handgun in the car. While the officer was conducting the search, Caldwell ignored an officer’s instructions to stay away from the car and fought with officers as he was removed from the car. He said he had the gun because he had been threatened. Marijuana was also found in the car and in Caldwell’s pants pocket. Caldwell admitted smoking marijuana, and a urine sample taken from Caldwell that day was positive for marijuana. The firearm was stolen.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an unlawful drug user to possess a firearm or ammunition. There is no such prohibition under Iowa law.
Caldwell was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Caldwell was sentenced to 18 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.
Caldwell was taken into custody and is being held by the United States Marshal 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 Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 10-68.
