Newhall Man Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Weapon after Felony OWI Conviction

A convicted felon who unlawfully possessed a firearm was sentenced August 6, 2019, to more than two years in federal prison.

Travis Seeman, age 36, from Newhall, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.  Seeman was previously convicted of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, subsequent offense, a Class D felony in Iowa.  Documents and statements at sentencing showed that Seeman possessed multiple firearms, including a handgun that he had in his hand when he grabbed and pushed his then-girlfriend during a domestic assault incident.   

Seeman was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Newell was sentenced to an imprisonment term of 26 months and 20 days.  He 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).  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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob Schunk and investigated by the Benton County Sheriff’s Department. 

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

The case file number is 18-CR-123. 

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