Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing Four Guns

A man who possessed four firearms and over 600 rounds of ammunition while using and selling marijuana was sentenced today to nearly four years in federal prison. 

Kimble John Slaman, age 65, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 24, 2018, guilty plea to one count of possession of firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

In a plea agreement, Slaman admitted that, between 2012 and 2015, he made a series of false statements in order to obtain guns and a permit to carry weapons.  At the time, Slaman was an unlawful user of marijuana, but he denied using marijuana on federal forms in order to purchase guns.  Slaman also began selling marijuana.  He received his supply of marijuana through the mail from an individual in Oregon.  The marijuana was sent to Slaman’s home on Mount Vernon Road in Cedar Rapids.  Slaman also hired a person to transport two pounds of marijuana from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Cedar Rapids.

In December 2015, law enforcement officers intercepted one of the packages, which contained 15 pounds of marijuana.  Officers then searched Slaman’s home.  Officers found four firearms, a tactical vest, and over 600 rounds of ammunition in Slaman’s bedroom.  One of the firearms, a Colt M4 5.56mm rifle, was loaded.  The tactical vest held a seven-inch knife in a scabbard and clips of ammunition, including a 9mm clip that held 31 rounds.  Slaman admitted he had received at least six shipments of marijuana from Oregon, which he had either used or sold to his customers.  Officers found 458 grams of marijuana in Slaman’s kitchen, mostly in the dishwasher, and 2,499 grams of marijuana in Slaman’s garage.  Slaman’s marijuana had exotic titles, including “Foo X Haze,” “WWP Athena,” “Goo Chili Sticky,” “Special X,” and “BO.”

Slaman was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Slaman was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment, fined $2,000, and ordered to pay over $2,600 in costs of prosecution.  Slaman must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Slaman was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service. 

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.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-85.

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