Sioux City Felon Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm

A convicted felon who possessed a semi-automatic rifle and ammunition was sentenced on October 9, 2018, to 6 years in federal prison. 

Kevin Adams, age 31, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 8, 2108, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.  Evidence presented at the plea and sentencing hearings revealed: 

Before December 13, 2017, Kevin Adams, defendant, had been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, namely: (1) Burglary in the Third Degree, in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County Iowa, on or about April 8, 2010, in case number FECR056051; (2) Possession of a Controlled Substance, in the District Court of Dakota County, Nebraska, on or about October 16, 2014, in case number CR-14-102, (3) Operating Motor Vehicle to Avoid Arrest, in the District Court of Dakota County, Nebraska, on or about October 16, 2014, in case number CR-14-103; (4-18) fourteen convictions of Receipt of Stolen Property, in the District Court of Dakota County, Nebraska, on or about August 10, 2016,  in case number CR-16-51; and (19) a conviction for Theft/Receiving Stolen Property, in the District Court of Douglass County, Nebraska, on or about February 16, 2017, in case number CR-17-109.      

On or about December 13, 2017, in the Northern District of Iowa, defendant Kevin Adams, did knowingly possess, in and affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a semi-automatic, Ruger, AR-15 rifle, serial number 854-09886 and ammunition.

The semi-automatic, Ruger, AR-15 rifle, serial number 854-09886 and ammunition were stolen and defendant knew they were stolen or had reasonable cause to believe they were stolen. 

Neither the firearm nor the ammunition described above, that defendant Kevin Adams possessed in the Northern District Iowa, were manufactured in Iowa.  Thus, they were transported to Iowa before defendant possessed them, and, thereby, effected interstate commerce. 

Defendant Kevin Adams is a member of a gang, and his nickname is “Mischief.” 

Defendant Kevin Adams was a methamphetamine user (and trafficker) who possessed the firearm and ammunition described above, in the Northern District Iowa, in connection with his felonious drug use in and around Sioux City, Iowa.  In fact, he once fired another weapon at others. 

The day of his illegal possession, of the firearm and ammunition defendant Kevin Adams had -- together with other -- stole a Mazada Protégé automobile from Nebraska and transported it into Iowa. 

The day of his illegal possession, defendant Kevin Adams attempted to avoid police by fleeing first in, and then from, the stolen car and entering the home of another without permission of the home’s occupants (who were both terrified by Adams’ unexpected, unauthorized, armed, entry).

Adams was sentenced in Sioux City by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Adams was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.              The case file number is CR18-4006.

The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. This case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

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