Waterloo Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing a Gun

A man who was found in possession of ammunition and a few days later in possession of a loaded firearm pled guilty March 18, 2021, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Mar’yo Doyuan Lindsey, age 24, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In a plea agreement, Lindsey admitted that the Iowa State patrol found him in a car on July 3, 2020, in possession of a large capacity magazine and ammunition.  A few days later, on July 12, 2020, Lindsey was found by Waterloo police officers in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun.  Lindsey had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses: (1) on April 28, 2014, in Black Hawk County, Iowa, he was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon and carrying weapons on school grounds; and (2) on May 12, 2017, in Black Hawk County, Iowa, he was convicted of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury causing bodily injury, possession of a firearm as a felon, and going armed with intent.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Lindsey remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Lindsey faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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. 

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

The case file number is 20-CR-2049.

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