Hampton Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Distribute While In Possession of a Gun

A Hampton man who possessed methamphetamine with the intent to deliver, while possessing a gun, pled guilty on November 18, 2020 in federal court in Sioux City.

David Hirsch, age 55, from Hampton, Iowa, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In a plea agreement, Hirsch admitted that on April 16, 2020 he was in possession of methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute.  At that time, he also possessed a loaded Glock .45 caliber handgun. 

On April 16, 2020, police executed a search warrant at a residence in Franklin County.  Upon entry, law enforcement found Hirsch attempting to flush methamphetamine down the toilet.  Law enforcement located a loaded Glock .45 caliber handgun on Hirsch.  Hirsch has a prior 2002 felony conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine.

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.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/download?inline.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Hirsch remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  For possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, Hirsch faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000.00 fine, and 4 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.  For possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Hirsch faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, which must be served consecutively to the drug charge, and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000.00 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release following imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and was investigated by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. 

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

The case file number is 20-3019.

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