Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 77 Months in Federal Prison for Firearms Charge While on Federal Supervised Release

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced today, December 18, 2025, to 77 months in federal prison for possessing firearms as a felon.

According to public court documents, Cornelius Lavaughn David, 37, possessed two loaded firearms, which were recovered during a traffic stop in April 2025. One of the firearms David possessed had an extended magazine loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition. David was also in possession of methamphetamine and Xanax.

At the time of the traffic stop, David was on federal supervised release for a 2023 conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon. He had been released from prison in November 2024. David was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for violating his terms of supervised release, consecutive to the 77-month sentence.

After completing his term of imprisonment, David will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

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. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.