Colby Palmer, age 26, from Clinton, Iowa, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids to being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition.
In a plea agreement, Palmer admitted that, on June 6, 2012, law enforcement officers conducted a consent search of a home located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Palmer was staying. Palmer had slept the night before the search in the master bedroom. In the room was a bag belonging to him. In the bag was a box of Winchester .357 magnum caliber ammunition. Palmer admitted in the plea agreement he knew the ammunition was in his bag and knowingly possessed the ammunition. Law enforcement officers recovered a latent fingerprint from the box of ammunition that matched defendant’s known prints. Another box of .357 magnum caliber ammunition was found under the bed. Palmer also admitted to two prior felony convictions. On March 21, 2007, Palmer was convicted in the Iowa District Court for Polk County of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, and on June 2, 2009, Palmer was convicted in the Iowa District Court for Webster County of Interference with the Official Acts of a Correctional Officer Inflicting Bodily Injury.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Palmer remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Palmer faces a possible maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. This case was a result of the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force and was in furtherance of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.
