Sioux City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Repeated Unlawful Possession of Firearms

A man who illegally possessed a gun on two occasions was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

Angelo Campbell, age 28, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 16, 2020, guilty plea to two counts of possession of a firearm by an unlawful drug user and domestic abuse misdemeanant.

Evidence at Campbell’s detention, change of plea and sentencing hearings revealed he possessed two different guns on two separate occasions after having been convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault in 2014 and 2016, and while an unlawful user of methamphetamine and marijuana.    

Campbell was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Campbell was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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

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.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney. 

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

The case file number is 20-4058.

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