Possessing Loaded Handgun and Nearly an Ounce of Meth Sends Drug User to Federal Prison for Two Years

A methamphetamine user who illegally possessed a loaded handgun was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.

Timothy James Hensley, age 44, from Martelle, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 16, 2021 guilty plea to one count of being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm.

Evidence at a prior hearing showed that on October 19, 2020, Hensley was stopped by a Linn County Sheriff’s Deputy for driving a truck with a license plate that belonged to a different vehicle.  During the stop, the Deputy learned that Hensley was barred from driving and had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for court.  During a search of Hensley’s person, the Deputy found a container with methamphetamine.  During a search of a backpack found on the passenger’s seat, officers found approximately 25 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine and a loaded .45 caliber handgun.

Hensley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Hensley was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.  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.

Hensley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Linn County Sherriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

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

The case file number is 21‑CR‑00036‑CJW-MAR.

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