Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of Firearms

Felipe Martin, 26, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty on April 27, 2023, to being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. 

Evidence at the plea hearing showed that on August 29, 2022, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop in Lemars, Iowa, of a vehicle that defendant was driving and noted the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.  During a search of the vehicle, a Glock 9mm Luger, a .45 ACP pistol, ammunition, and a marijuana roach were found.  Law enforcement later executed a search warrant at defendant’s residence and recovered drug paraphernalia, baggies, cocaine, and marijuana.  Defendant further admitted he was an unlawful user of marijuana and cocaine, which by federal law prohibits a person from possessing any firearm or ammunition. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Martin was allowed to remain on release pending sentencing.  He faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

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 is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, Le Mars Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

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

The case file number is 22-4078.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.