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Press Release

Iowa Falls Man Prohibited From Possessing Guns Because of Prior Misdemeanor Domestic Abuse Convictions Sentenced to Prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa
Twice Convicted of Assaulting His Ex-Wife by Choking Her and by Pushing Her Down Steps

An Iowa Falls man who was prohibited from possessing guns because of prior misdemeanor domestic abuse convictions was sentenced August 24, 2018, to more than a year in federal prison.

Heath Allen Ziesman, age 35, from Iowa Falls, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 5, 2018, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a domestic abuser.

Court documents and evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that on June 18, 2015, police investigators executed a search warrant at Ziesman’s residence in Iowa Falls.  Investigators recovered a loaded Rock Island Armory .45 caliber pistol and a box of .45 caliber ammunition in a dresser drawer by Ziesman’s bed.  They also found a loaded rifle, a shotgun, detached shotgun barrels, boxes of ammunition, and numerous loose cartridges of ammunition in the basement.

In March 2010, Ziesman was convicted of first degree harassment for threatening his ex-girlfriend.  Ziesman sent compromising photographs of his ex-girlfriend to her family members and threatened to send the photographs to the schoolboard where she worked.

In July 2012, Ziesman was convicted of domestic abuse assault for grabbing his ex-wife’s neck and choking her.  While still on probation for this assault conviction, Ziesman pushed his ex-wife down three stairs, causing her to smash her forehead into a door frame and splitting open her skin.  She needed 27 stitches to seal her wound.  Ziesman received a second domestic abuse assault conviction in July 2013.

Ziesman was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Ziesman was released on conditions previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Eldridge and Drew Inman and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. 

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

The case file number is 17-CR-98-LTS.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Updated August 28, 2018

Topics
Firearms Offenses
Project Safe Neighborhoods