Firing a Revolver During an Altercation at a Downtown Gas Station Earns Felon Federal Prison

A felon and drug user who fired a revolver during an altercation with another man at a downtown gas station was sentenced February 13, 2020 to more than 3 years in federal prison.

Kenneth Everett, age 29, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 4, 2019, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Everett was previously convicted of robbery in Mississippi.

Evidence at Everett’s detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed Eleazar Lopez-Martinez (who subsequently died in an unrelated incident) pursued Everett with a knife, for reasons unknown, and Everett retrieved a loaded handgun from his car.  A video shows the two men faced off for a period of time until Everett fired a shot that missed Lopez-Martinez, but which placed the public and patrons of the gas station at risk of serious harm. 

Everett’s criminal history includes a robbery conviction, a domestic assault conviction, and other minor offenses.  He was also a regular user of marijuana at the time of the shooting.

Everett was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Everett was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 2-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Everett 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 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.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners: Sioux City Police Department. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department.  It 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 19-4066.

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