Sioux City Man Sentenced to More than Five Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing and Firing a Gun

A convicted felon who unlawfully possessed a firearm was sentenced June 22, 2021 to more than five years in federal prison.

Brandon Miller, age 35, from Sioux City, Iowa received the prison term after a February 16, 2021, guilty plea to a one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.  Miller was previously convicted of robbery in Jefferson County, Colorado and forgery, eluding and assault with weapon on a peace office in Woodbury County, Iowa.

Evidence at Miller’s detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed Miller was with two groups of people who met at an apartment complex in Sioux City, and after a short time, several gunshot were exchanged between the two groups.  A person in Miller’s group was struck twice by gunfire.  Miller can be seen on a video returning fire towards the initial shooter as that person drove away.     

Miller was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Miller was sentenced to 70 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.

Miller 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. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners:  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 – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case 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 20-4069.

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