Fire/Rescue Call Leads To Sioux City Man Being Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Handgun as a Felon

A man who was secretly armed with a loaded gun while arguing with another and falling into a window was sentenced June 22, 2022, to more than a year in federal prison.

James King, age 44, from Sioux City, received the prison term after a guilty plea to one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence in this case revealed on August 1, 2020, King was secretly armed with a loaded handgun while arguing with another.  When King fell into a window and injured himself, Sioux City, Iowa Fire/Rescue responded, found King to have a severe cut to his right arm, and to be in possession of the firearm.  King had been disarmed by law enforcement in 2018 as well.    

King has a lengthy, but dated, criminal history including misdemeanor conviction for aggravated assault and two serious drug offenses. 

King was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  King was sentenced to 16 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.

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

The case was investigated by the DEA and the Sioux City Police Department. The case 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 21-CR-4050.

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