Iowa City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Marijuana and Firearm Charge

DAVENPORT, Iowa – An Iowa City man, Antonio Deshawn Russell, age 35, was sentenced today to 144 months in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. Following his prison term, Russell was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to immediately pay a $200 Special Assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

Law enforcement identified Russell in November 2020 when Iowa City Police Officers responded to a shots-fired incident. In December 2020, officers executed a search warrant at Russell’s residence, where they located a nine-millimeter Taurus handgun with an obliterated serial number, 57 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and two cell phones. The cell phones contained evidence of drug trafficking.

In February 2021, Coralville police were dispatched to a shots-fired incident and Russell was observed fleeing from the location in a vehicle at a high rate of speed. An officer stopped Russell and observed indicia of intoxication on him when he fled again at a high rate of speed. The officer pursued Russell again and observed Russell crash his vehicle into a light pole. Russell threw a loaded and stolen firearm out of the passenger window. Russell was a convicted felon and ineligible to possess firearms.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa City Police Department and the Coralville Police Department investigated the case.