Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to Prison for Gun Charge

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - On April 12, 2021, United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced David Robert Blake Vanderpool, age 35, of Council Bluffs, to 50 months in prison for the knowing possession of a short barrel shotgun that was not registered to him, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal. Vanderpool was ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. There is no parole in the federal system.

On June 23, 2020, the Iowa State Patrol conducted a traffic stop on Vanderpool for speeding on Interstate 29. During the stop, troopers observed a sawed-off shotgun, found to be loaded, on the backseat of Vanderpool’s car. A check of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record by law enforcement found the firearm was not registered to him. Vanderpool pleaded guilty on November 20, 2020, to the firearm charge.

This matter was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.