Clay County Man to Federal Prison for Possessing Stolen Guns

A man who illegally possessed stolen firearms was sentenced June 23, 2021, to almost 6 years in federal prison.

Travis Grote, 43, from Webb, Iowa, pled guilty January 22, 2021, to possessing stolen firearms and possessing firearms as a prohibited person.

Evidence at the hearings, showed that on June 25, 2019, Grote was involved in a transaction to sell multiple stolen firearms to an undercover law enforcement officer.  Grote also admitted that he knew he had previously been convicted of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, on or about December 19, 2001, and therefore was a felon and prohibited from possessing firearms. 

Grote was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Grote was sentenced to 70 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, DCI Crime Laboratory, and Spencer Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 20-4014. 

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