Charles City Man Sent to Federal Prison for Illegal Gun Possession

A man who possessed a firearm as a felon and domestic abuser was sentenced today to more than four years in federal prison.

Dashaune Terrell Burns-Johnson, age 32, from Charles City, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 23, 2024 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that on May 22, 2024, Burns‑Johnson brought drugs and a loaded firearm to his neighbor’s house in Charles City.  Burns-Johnson pulled the firearm out of his backpack and pointed it at someone in the house.  Burns-Johnson had previously been convicted of felony and misdemeanor crimes related to domestic abuse assault.

Burns-Johnson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Burns-Johnson was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Burns-Johnson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

 The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Charles City Police Department.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 24-CR-2033.  

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