waterloo felon guilty of possessing shotgun
Contact: Peter Deegan
A felon who had a shotgun in the van he was driving pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Bernard Edwards, age 34, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Edwards had felony convictions for carrying a concealed weapon in Flint, Michigan, in 2005 and conspiracy to commit felony burglary and felony burglary in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1996.
On July 9, 2009, Edwards was driving a purple minivan in Waterloo, Iowa, at about 10:15 p.m. without headlights turned on. Police officers saw the van, turned on their emergency lights, and followed the van. Edwards did not stop and drove the van at a high rate of speed down an alley. Edwards eluded the police, and the officers soon found the van parked on the wrong side of the street with no occupants. The officers searched the van and seized a loaded 16-gauge shotgun. Edwards’ DNA was found on items in the minivan, and he later admitted the gun was his.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Edwards remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Edwards faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
This case is being 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 Waterloo Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 10-2047.
