Des Moines Man Sentenced for Assault upon a Federal Law Enforcement Officer and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

DES MOINES, Iowa – On November 17, 2017, United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose sentenced Raymond Lee Rhodeman, 39, of Des Moines, Iowa, to 70 months imprisonment for assault upon a federal officer and felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. Upon his release from imprisonment, Rhodeman will serve three years of supervised release. Rhodeman was also ordered to pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund and $380 of restitution. 

As part of his guilty plea, Rhodeman admitted to fighting, resisting and forcibly assaulting two federal officers during an investigation in November of 2015. Rhodeman, a previously convicted felon, also admitted to unlawfully possessing a Model M-11, 9 mm handgun at the Centerville, Iowa, residence where he was staying in February of 2016.   

On August 31, 2017, Judge Rose previously sentenced Rhodeman’s co-defendant, Melissa Renee Zanders, 45, of Centerville to 67 months imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm. As part of her guilty plea, Zanders, a previously convicted felon, admitted to unlawfully possessing a 9 mm handgun at the same Centerville residence in February of 2016.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the South Central Iowa Drug Task Force. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Learn more about this release by calling Kevin E. VanderSchel at 515-473-9300, or by emailing him at Kevin.VanderSchel@usdoj.gov (link sends e-mail).