Quad City Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug and Firearm Charges

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Two Quad Cities men were sentenced on January 27, 2026, to federal prison for firearms and drug crimes.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Jewahn Lequez Walton, 28, and Preston Manning McDowell Jr., 26, each tossed loaded firearms from a vehicle driven by Walton while attempting to elude law enforcement in June 2024.

In July 2024, McDowell possessed another firearm in Davenport. McDowell is prohibited from possessing firearms due to multiple prior felony convictions, including a 2022 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

In May 2025, Walton was arrested and found in possession of a distribution quantity of cocaine and a loaded firearm. Walton is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2018 felony conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine in the Illinois Circuit Court for Rock Island County.

McDowell was sentenced to a 72-month prison term to run consecutively to his supervised revocation sentence, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Walton was sentenced to a 100-month prison term, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Davenport Police Department and the Bettendorf Police Department investigated the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.