Social Media Posts Lead to Federal Prison Sentence

A Waterloo man who was observed on two separate occasions with guns on social media by the police was sentenced today to more than a year in federal prison.

Jumonie Dontez Wilson, age 18, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 17, 2019, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

In a plea agreement, Wilson admitted he possessed guns on two separate occasions in January 2019, at a time he was a marijuana user.  On both occasions, Wilson was observed on social media possessing a gun just prior to police finding him with the gun.  Other social media posts showed Wilson in possession of and using marijuana.  During the first incident, Wilson threw a gun out the window of his residence as officers approached to conduct a search.  At sentencing, the court found that Wilson possessed the firearms in connection with the crimes of possessing a controlled substance with the intent to deliver and carrying weapons.

Wilson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Wilson was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cedar Falls Police Department, and the Waterloo Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 19-cr-02018.

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