Dubuque Meth User Who Possessed a Loaded Firearm During “One Man Crime Spree” Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who was convicted of nine crimes committed in the first few months of 2018 was sentenced on December 17, 2018, to more than a year in federal prison.

Patrick Andrew Lugrain, age 22, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 2, 2018 guilty plea to one count of being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.

In a plea agreement, Lugrain admitted he was using methamphetamine in early 2018.  In February 2018, he purchased a .45 caliber pistol from a business in Dubuque.  On March 3, 2018, Lugrain was stopped in a traffic stop by Dubuque police and arrested on outstanding warrants.  Officers then found a Smith & Wesson .45 caliber pistol loaded with seven rounds and a large number of baggies used for drug packaging in the car.  Lugrain later stated he had been living in his car and admitted he possessed the firearm for his own protection. 

Court records reflect that at the time he was charged in federal court, Lugrain had fourteen pending criminal cases in the state of Iowa arising from conduct occurring in the first four months of 2018.  In December, Lugrain was convicted of eight of those charges, with the remaining charges being dismissed.  During an earlier federal court hearing, a federal magistrate judge described Lugrain’s early-2018 behavior as a “one-man crime spree.”

Lugrain was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Lugrain was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day of imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Lugrain was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on December 27, 2018.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

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.

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

The case file number is 18-CR-1018-LTS.

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