Waterloo Methamphetamine User Sentenced to Over a Year for Illegally Possessing a Handgun

A Waterloo man who illegally possessed a firearm and ammunition while being a user of marijuana and methamphetamine was sentenced today to more than one year in federal prison.

Scott Francis Gilson, age 38, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 4, 2018 guilty plea to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a drug user.

Evidence at sentencing showed police stopped Gilson after observing him drive erratically on a motorcycle.  During the traffic stop, police seized a .45 caliber firearm from his waistband.  The firearm was loaded with the hammer cocked back.

Gilson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Gilson was sentenced to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment.  He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Gilson 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 Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the Waterloo Police Department.  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. 

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

The case file number is 18-CR-206.

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