Des Moines Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 414 Months in Federal Prison

DES MOINES, Iowa – On January 13, 2022, Kenny Eugene Smart, also known as “Solo”, age 48, of Des Moines, was sentenced to 414 months in prison for firearms charges announced United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal.

After a three-day jury trial, Smart was convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Smart was found in possession of that gun during the execution of metro-wide search warrants in November 2020. Smart was prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior convictions for an Iowa felony drug crime and a federal felony gun crime, for which he spent more than 15 years in prison. Smart had just been released from prison in June 2020 and was on federal supervised release when he was found with a gun in November 2020. Smart qualified under the United States Sentencing Guidelines as an Armed Career Criminal and, due to the crimes for which he was convicted, faced a mandatory 20-year sentence.

At sentencing, a victim testified that she had been raped by Smart. The government presented evidence that Smart raped another victim during the six months he had been out of prison. In imposing sentence, United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger characterized Smart’s gun possession as aggravating because he possessed guns to intimidate others and coerce at least one of his rape victims. She also considered Smart’s conduct after he was federally indicted, which included an attempt to have another person take responsibility for the gun and he threatened the family member of a trial witness. Smart received a 360-month sentence for his gun crimes, to be served consecutively to a 54-month sentence for revocation of his federal supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Des Moines Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Iowa Department Public Safety, and multiple other state and federal agencies.