Press Release
Cedar Rapids Man Charged with Being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa
Rakeem Leonard, age 30, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The charge is contained in an Indictment unsealed on September 6, 2021, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, in July 2021, Leonard possessed a pistol after having been convicted of two felonies and while he was subject to a no contact order.
If convicted, Leonard faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years on supervised release following any imprisonment.
Leonard appeared for a detention hearing today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Leonard’s next appearance for trial is set for November 8, 2021.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and is being investigated by the High Risk Unit of the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and 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 21-53.
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Updated September 10, 2021
Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Firearms Offenses
Component