Felon Who Illegally Possessed Firearm Sent to Federal Prison

A man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced on January 8, 2026, to 30 months’ imprisonment.

Taxavier Ford, 29, from Alta, Iowa, pled guilty on August 11, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Ford was previously convicted of possession of a narcotic drug, in the State of Indiana in 2017, and possession of marijuana, with intent to deliver and possession of a firearm by a felon, in the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County in 2021.  Both of these convictions prohibit a person from possessing any firearm.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on March 14, 2025, in Storm Lake, Iowa, law enforcement observed a vehicle, driven by Ford, with illegal window tint and initiated a traffic stop.  Officers measured the window tint which revealed it was in excess of Iowa state law.  When measuring the window tint, officers smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.  During a search of the vehicle and Ford, officers found a metal object in Ford’s waistline.  Ford admitted he had a loaded firearm in his waistline. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Ford was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve a 3-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Ford remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

  The case was investigated by the Storm Lake Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 25-4028.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.