CEDAR RAPIDS – A Hancock County, Iowa man was sentenced January 30, 2013 to 144 months in federal prison.
Jeffrey Dale Brown, age 22, from Kanawha, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 28, 2011, guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.
Information provided by the United States at the sentencing and change of plea hearing revealed Brown’s role is a string of burglaries across north-central Iowa. From about December 2010 until about June 7, 2011, Brown and others reached an agreement to distribute methamphetamine. During this same time, Brown possessed a number of stolen firearms including a sawed-off shotgun. Brown also possessed another firearm – a handgun — that he carried during drug deals to protect himself, his drugs, and his drug proceeds and to intimidate drug customers and rivals.
Brown was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Brown was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment for the drug charge and 24 months’ imprisonment for possessing the firearm in furtherance of the drug offense. The terms of imprisonment will run consecutively, for a total sentence of 144 months. A special assessment of $200 was imposed. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Brown is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state, and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
