Two Waterloo Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Firearm as Felons

Two men from Waterloo, Iowa, were sentenced to prison terms after possessing a firearm as felons.

Bruce Terrell Sanford, 32, from Waterloo received the prison term after a November 28, 2022 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.  Houston Simmons III, 26, from Waterloo received the prison term after a December 15, 2022 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence at the guilty plea and sentencing hearings showed that Simmons III and Sanford were sitting in a car outside of a club in Waterloo on September 5, 2021, when officers were called to the club.  Sanford was in the driver’s seat of the car, and Simmons III was in the front passenger’s seat.  Officers could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the car and then searched the car.  Inside the car, officers located a loaded Taurus PT111 G2 A, 9-millimeter pistol in the passenger door compartment next to where Simmons III was seated.  Officers were able to determine that the pistol was stolen.  Officers also found a burnt marijuana roach in the center console area of the car, a baggie of marijuana in the driver’s side door, an opened bag containing marijuana in the trunk of the vehicle, and a bag of marijuana in Sanford’s pocket.  Sanford and Simmons III both admitted to possessing the pistol.  Sanford was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was previously convicted in Black Hawk County, Iowa, of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in 2010, burglary in the third degree in 2010, and criminal mischief in the second degree in 2011.  Simmons III was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was previously convicted in Black Hawk County, Iowa, of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in 2019.

Sanford was sentenced on April 27, 2023, to 70 months’ imprisonment.  Simmons III was sentenced today to 44 months’ imprisonment.

Both Sanford and Simmons III were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  They were each ordered to serve a 3‑year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Sanford and Simmons III are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department.

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

The case file number is 22-CR-2019.

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