Convicted Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm

A two-time felon who possessed a three different firearms on three different occasions was sentenced to two years in federal prison today.

Chad Michael Chase, age 42, from Algona, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 20, 2018, guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence from the change of plea and sentencing hearing revealed defendant had a history of violence, five OWI convictions (including two felony violations), had illegally possessed three firearms on three occasions, and had twice been disarmed by local police before being prosecuted federally.

Chase was sentenced in Sioux City by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Chase was sentenced to 24 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.  Chase 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 the 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 violence crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violence offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The case was investigated by the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office and 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 18-CR-03008.

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