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Press Release

Drug User Sent to Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Gun

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa

A drug user who possessed marijuana and a firearm was sentenced November 8, 2021, to federal prison.

Anthony Jon Chan-Vance, age 43, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 5, 2021 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

In a plea agreement, Chan-Vance admitted he possessed a gun while he was an unlawful user of marijuana.  He also admitted that he provided marijuana to his friends.  Evidence at various hearings in the case showed that law enforcement officers searched Chan-Vance’s home in 2019.  During the search, officers found a .40 caliber handgun.  Officers also found a distribution quantity of marijuana in the home.  At sentencing, the court found that Chan-Vance possessed the gun in connection with his possession of marijuana that he intended to distribute.

Chan-Vance was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Chan-Vance was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment and fined $10,000.  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.

Chan-Vance 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 Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Marion Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 20-cr-86.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Updated November 9, 2021

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Firearms Offenses