Fort Dodge Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

A man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced January 25, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City.

William Howard Rockey Halstead, 34, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty on August 19, 2021, to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

On September 2, 2020, Halstead was stopped by law enforcement for having an inoperable break light.  During the stop, law enforcement observed multiple items resembling marijuana in plain view within the car.  Halstead was asked to step out of the car at which time he locked his glovebox and exited the car.  A subsequent search of Halstead uncovered a digital scale in his pocket.  A search of the car revealed numerous pieces of marijuana on the seat, floorboard, and center console of the vehicle.  Law enforcement then opened the glovebox and found a loaded Hi-Point JCP 40 Smith and Wesson handgun.  Upon arrest, Halstead admitted he also had a small bag of methamphetamine in his sock.  Halstead had 17 prior criminal convictions including burglary, grand larceny, controlled substances offenses, evading law enforcement, possession of a firearm by a felon, and absence from custody.   

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Halstead was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment and must serve a term of 3 years of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Halstead remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikala Purdy-Steenholdt and Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Fort Dodge Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

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

The case file number is 20-3040.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.