Cedar Rapids Felon Sent to Prison for Possessing Gun

A man who possessed a firearm as a felon was sentenced today to more than a year in federal prison.  Tony Ray Pledge, age 58, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 12, 2026, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Information at sentencing showed that, in August 2025, law enforcement stopped a car that Pledge was driving in Cedar Rapids.  Officers searched the car and found a loaded firearm, drug paraphernalia, and marijuana.  Pledge has a prior federal felony conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon.  He has other drug-related convictions, as well as a conviction for assault.  

Pledge was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Pledge was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Pledge is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-80.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.