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Press Release

Sioux City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa

A man who possessed a firearm in furtherance of distributing marijuana was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison.

Fredrick Perkins, age 32, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 20, 2019 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Evidence at his detention, plea, and sentencing hearings showed that law enforcement officers searched Perkins’ home as the result of suspected drug related activity.  Perkins told an officer that there were no firearms in the residence but that anything illegal belonged to him and not his girlfriend who also lived in the residence.  During the search, an officer found a handgun on a shelf in the master bedroom along with a loaded magazine in the firearm with 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition.  The firearm was previously stolen from another address in Sioux City.  In Perkins bedroom, closet, and living room, officers found large quantities of marijuana and $2,114 of U.S. currency. 

Perkins has a lengthy criminal history including convictions for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, receive/possess/sell a stolen vehicle, aggravated battery on a government official, and delivery of cannabis.

Perkins was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Perkins was sentenced to 165 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-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.

Perkins 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 Sioux City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.  

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

The case file number is 18-4014.

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Updated August 31, 2021

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Firearms Offenses