Harrison County Man Sentenced On Firearms Charge

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – On February 15, 2013, Micah David Meloccaro, age 22, of Woodbine, Iowa, was sentenced in United States District Court in Council Bluffs on the charge of unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose sentenced Meloccaro to 30 months imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised. The Court also ordered Meloccaro to forfeit two shotguns and ammunition which he had possessed, and to pay a $100.00 special assessment for the Crime Victim Fund. Meloccaro was allowed to remain on conditions of release, supervised by the United States Probation Office, pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at he will serve his sentence.

Meloccaro was sentenced upon his plea of guilty to unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. The charges arose out of an emergency medical response to Melocarro’s then residence in Woodbine, Iowa, on April 13, 2012. The emergency response was regarding a friend of Meloccaro’s, whom Meloccaro had accidently shot at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun. The shooting victim is recovering. During the emergency response, deputies of the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department observed growing marijuana. A search was conducted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and a marijuana grow operation was found in the house. Meloccaro eventually admitted to smoking marijuana on a regular basis. As a part of the federal plea agreement in this case, Melocarro must also plead guilty in the District Court of the State of Iowa for Harrison County to manufacturing marijuana.

This investigation was conducted by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Harrison County Attorney’s Office also aided in this case, which was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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