CEDAR RAPIDS – An Iowa man who illegally possessed firearms on two occasions was sentenced last week to five years in federal prison. Timothy Rush, age 24, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 30, 2014 guilty plea to one count of being an unlawful user of controlled substances (marijuana) in possession of a firearm, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In a plea agreement, Rush admitted that, on the night of March 25, 2011, officers found him walking with a juvenile male in an alley off First Avenue. The juvenile was found in possession of ten baggies of marijuana, and Rush was found with a loaded 9mm pistol in his waistband. Rush admitted stealing the weapon, and admitted regularly smoking marijuana. A urine test confirmed his drug use. On May 7, 2012, Rush was found, after a shooting on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids, in possession of a sawed-off shotgun. Rush was convicted in state court for possession of an offensive weapon, a felony offense. Then, on May 29, 2014, officers responded to reports of a man with a gun seen on the southeast side of Cedar Rapids. When officers encountered Rush, who fit the description, he fled, dropping a loaded .380 caliber pistol during the flight. Officers arrested Rush and recovered the weapon. Rush ultimately admitted stealing that weapon.
Rush was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Rush was sentenced to sixty months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $200 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Rush is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
