Conspiracy to Traffic Stolen Firearms to Persons From Iowa, Illinois, and South Dakota Disrupted

From on or about November 25, 2018, and continuing until on or about April 23, 2019, MOSES STRICKLAND, JR., ANTHONY HOLEYFIELD and ANTWON HOLEYFIELD (and others known and unknown to authorities) conspired to steal, receive, possess, conceal, store, barter, sell, and traffic as many as 15 stolen firearms.

Moses Strickland, Jr., age 22, from Decatur, Illinois, was sentenced on August 21, 2020 to over six years in prison after a March 11, 2020, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess stolen firearms, one count of possession of stolen firearms, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Antwon Holeyfield, age 25, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced on January 24, 2020 to over three years in prison after a August 12, 2019, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and one count of possession of stolen firearms.

Anthony Holeyfield, age 21, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced on January 31, 2020, to 8 months in prison after a September 23, 2019, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and one count of possession of stolen firearms.

Evidence presented by the United States at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings in this case revealed, on November 26, 2018, Antwon Holeyfield and Strickland broke into a victim’s Woodbury County, Iowa home using an axe.  Once inside the two stole valuables including 15 firearms.  After leaving the victim’s residence, Antwon Holeyfield and Strickland went to Anthony

Holeyfield’s residence where Anthony Holeyfield helped them move all of the stolen firearms and other stolen items into his house.  Then men worked together over the next several months to sell the stolen firearms.  The men conducted deals at Anthony Holeyfield’s home and other places to people who lived in and out of Iowa.  Stickland even attempted to sell some to the firearms in Chicago, Illinois before his firearms were interdicted by police.  Despite law enforcement’s best efforts a number of the stolen firearms are still unrecovered.  

Strickland was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Strickland was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $14,034.78 joint and several in restitution. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Antwon Holeyfield was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 42 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $14,034.78 joint and several in restitution. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Anthony Holeyfield was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 8 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $14,034.78 joint and several in restitution. He must also serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

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 also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from our Project Guardian partners.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/download?inline.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa and the Chicago, Illinois Police Department, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

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

The case file number is 19-4027.

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