Waterloo Man Convicted of Firearm and Drug Charges

A Waterloo man who possessed a firearm as a felon and possessed crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it was convicted by a jury today after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Marchello Rembert, 32, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.  The verdict was returned this morning following about two hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that on June 4, 2015, Rembert was at the 200 block of Cottage Street on the East Side of Waterloo, when police placed him under arrest on an active state arrest warrant.  During a pat-down search, police located 15 baggies of crack cocaine in Rembert’s front pocket.  Further investigation that evening revealed a loaded 9mm Ruger pistol in Rembert’s girlfriend’s vehicle.  During analysis of the firearm, police located Rembert’s left index fingerprint on the left side of the firearm near the trigger guard area.  Rembert was a felon, having previously been convicted of felony drug crimes, as well as felony theft and fraud offenses.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Rembert remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Rembert faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $1,250,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and at least three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by the Waterloo Police Department, which was assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Task Force, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Falls Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol Tabaco and Firearms, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. 

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

The case file number is 15-CR-2038.

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