Law enforcement agencies across the state continue to make communities safer by partnering to reduce gun related crimes and violence. United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr. announced charges and arrests in thirty-two recent federal gun cases at a press conference held at the United States Attorney’s Office. Deegan was joined by Donald Dockendorf, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Thomas Reinwart, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Deputy Chief Thomas Jonker, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Assistant Chief of Police Jeremy Jensen and Investigator Nicholas Schlosser, Dubuque Police Department, Deputy Marshal Nick Bonifazi, United States Marshal’s Service, Special Agent Mike Fischels, Homeland Security Investigations, and Chief Deputy John Stuelke, Captain Greg McGivern, Lieutenant Matt Pavelka, and Sergeant Dave Beuter, all of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
“The charges in these cases demonstrate the Department of Justice’s continued commitment to prosecuting the most dangerous offenders in our communities,” said United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr. “We will continue to work with all of our outstanding local, state, and federal law partners to investigate and prosecute those who use guns to commit crimes and those unlawfully possess guns and ammunition. Convicted felons, drug users, and those who have committed domestic violence are simply not allowed to possess guns or ammunition. Those who do violate federal law and will be held accountable.”
In the past few months, the work of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies has resulted in the following matters in federal court in Cedar Rapids:
Jesus David Jimenez, age 33, Karondius Martea Kelly, age 20, Jamaal Baker, age 40, Charles John Cizek, age 41, Alberto Quinto-Pascual, age 36, Shevin Darnell Caston, age 28, Diamond Meshan Duckings, age 34, Jumoni Dontez Wilson, age 18, Levi Farren Miller, age 28, Rajih Rafee Donley, age 31, all of Waterloo, Iowa; John David Orr III, age 19, Johnnie Eugene Raymond, age 22, Charles Dwayne Carter, age 27, all of Dubuque, Iowa; Dustin Blake Herubin, age 23, Daytrell Washington-Roby, age 21, Raven Damien Meader Burkhow, age 24, Drew Blahnik, age 32. Fernaris Braggs, age 31, Andrew Shaw, age 31, Jontreyvius Richmond, age 21, Darnell Henderson, age 23, Mathew John Wharton, age 28, Zachary Francis Hogan, age 28, Paul Hoff, age 40, Untario McGhee, age 18, all of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Clint Hospodarksy, age 44, of Iowa City, Iowa; Randolph High, age 62, of Stanwood, Iowa; Justin Allen Bryce Gulian, age 28, of Clarksville, Iowa; Richard Dale Olge II, age 30, of Cresco, Iowa; Gilbert Lopez, Jr., age 33, of West Union, Iowa; Edinton Grugbay Wright, age 22, of Marion, Iowa; and Brett Scott Meana, age 43, of Peosta, Iowa, have all been charged with various violations of federal law including being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The charges are contained in complaints and indictments filed within the last few months in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The complaint and indictment against Burkhow alleges that in March and April 2019, Burkhow sold cocaine to a confidential informant on five separate occasions. On April 29, 2019, investigators executed a search warrant at Burkhow’s residence in Cedar Rapids and located fourteen guns, eight silencers, thousands of rounds of ammunition, a money counting machine, cash, and cocaine. Burkhow admitted to investigators that he uses controlled substances. The case file is 19-mj-149 and 19-cr-59.
The complaint and indictment against Washington-Roby alleges that in September 2018, Washington-Roby posted a photo of himself on Facebook holding a Glock 9mm handgun. The firearm was later seized from one of Washington-Roby’s friends while Roby and the friend were together. Washington-Roby admitted to officers that he uses marijuana and had been doing so since a young age. Also, on April 5, of this year, Washington-Roby was in a vehicle involved in a shots-fired investigation. A pistol was found in that vehicle. The case file is 19-mj-117 and 19-cr-47.
The complaint against Quinto-Pascual alleges that on May 10, 2019, Waterloo Police officers responded to a call for a man with a gunshot wound. The unresponsive male was taken to a nearby hospital. Officers later located a .32 caliber revolver that was involved in the shooting. Quinto-Pascual was identified as someone who was with the male earlier that evening. Quinto-Pascual was located and admitted to being with the male that night and that the firearm belonged to him. Quinto is alleged to have possessed a firearm with an obliterated serial number and possessed a firearm while being a drug user. This case file is 19-mj-168.
The complaints and indictments filed against McGhee, Kelly, Cizek, Braggs, High, Raymond, Caston, Henderson, Richmond, Carter, Donley, allege that these defendants were felons who were unlawfully in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
The charges filed against Orr Blahnik, Shaw, Wharton, Hogan, and Hospodarsky allege that these defendants were in possession of a firearm as a drug user.
Miller was charged in May with possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing an unregistered firearm.
The indictment against Herubin alleges that this defendant possessed with the intent to distribute marijuana near a protected location, two counts of false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and possession of a firearm as a drug user.
Jimenez, Baker, Duckings, and Gulian were each charged with possessing a firearm as a felon. Each has since pled guilty.
In March of this year, Wright and Wilson were both charged with being a drug user in possession of a firearm. Both have since pled guilty.
Meana was charged in April with possessing an unregistered firearm. He pled guilty on May 28, 2019.
Hoff was charged with possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He pled guilty on June 13, 2019.
Lopez pled guilty in June to two counts of being an unlawful user of marijuana and methamphetamine and one count of selling a stolen firearm.
If convicted on these charges, all defendants face at least a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force (composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshal Service, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department), the Waterloo Federal Task Force (composed of the Waterloo Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department), the Dubuque Police Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Charles City Police Department, and the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office.
Coming soon to an area near you, Hopefully River City.
If you drug users have any guns you had better get rid of them. Criminals and physco’s are not allowed to have them and you qualify for both.
its just curious that you can have all the alcohol and prescription drugs in a house with a firearm and nobody is coming for your guns so long as youre addicted to the opioids the government makes money off of and the booze the government tax’s. never mind the fact that booze losers tend to commit alot more violent crime than anyone else in general and the fact that sometimes prescription drugs are always associated with mass shooters….. its almost as if none of any of the laws make any sense. its sort of scary to see that iowas atf and local agencies are really nothing more than hit squads for a liberal agenda. constitutionally the government cant restrict anyones access to firearms, i get the need to take them from the violent or the irresponsible or the untrustworthy, but i does need to be aid and recognized that the police agents and politicians involved in this type of behavior more or less are anti american treason committing pieces of shit.
are you straight out of the 30’s? you dont make alot of sense. you accuse everyone on every story of being a criminal or a psycho or a something, it feels alot like tons of paranoid projection from a foil hat wearing lonely ineffectual little bitch. have you ever questioned a law? or do you just blindly comply and follow without thinking at least a bit about the why? why is it you can have booze and guns? why is it that you can be on oxycontin and have guns? do you think just maybe the government isnt out here with your best interest in mind? see when the government doesnt see very plainly how they are making a buck off of something they tend to seize property destroy lives and incarcerate. the mob used to smash windows when a business wouldnt buy protection….. you seem to just wave a rally flag for anything law enforcement related even if its some non sensical draconian nightmare thats going to hurt way more lives than itll ever protect. now i agree, violent felons shouldnt have a firearm. neither should users of alcohol or anyone on a prescription drug i dont care if its a lortab. neither should illegal immigrants (did you know people with temporary visas can buy a gun, that should be where youre paranoid mind is focused as its actually a problem) i think anyone whos served in the military should have to go through several evals before their rights are restored. as far as wasting resources to investigate everyone who may own a firearm just so the state can bump their numbers up and claim that prevented crime, just so that worthless reynolds has something to run on next year? a waste of timme. personally i dont care about guns dont have em dont care if thers do, but as a voting citizen and tax victim i demand the state starts using its money to go down south and start clearing franklin and wright counties and the surrounding area of ALL the illegal mexicans, or maybe use all that money and manpower to try and put a dent in the heroin and meth epidemic iowa has had at least with meth for over twenty years. lets form gang units in local small towns like mason city so we can establish whos involved in the african american criminal network that seems to be operating unhindered by our local pd. lets get out there and shut down the puppy mills which for some reason iowa has had alot of. lets use our time to actually protect the public from real threats.
seems like a real waste of time money effort and resources to try to go undercover and smoke a doobie with some guy then bust him and tell him he gets to spend fed time in a real prison because he happened to own a jennings .22 from the 70’s. we are putting non violent people in real prison for essentially causing zero harm to society the state or anyone around him! if you feel ok with that youre not very bright and you lack basic compassion for your fellow human beings, you should put us out of your misery if that really equates for you and sits well with you. you take a normal guy and throw him in federal prison for no reaqson at all, hius record destroyed has a felony has no rights left when he gets out cant get a job might as well live up to the label the state forced unto him before they decided to mentally abuse and falsely inprison an innocent human being, the motivation? they have to create criminals and keep as many criminals in rotation both behind bars and on the streets to ensure their own job security. oh wait, cops, prosecuters lawyers and judges WANT AND NEED crime to stay employed? well i wonder if that ever leads to corruption and maybe even criminal behavior from those types of people. this type of “justice” does nothing to ensure my safety nor yours, it does nothing but turn normal everyday people into hardened criminals. people dont go to prison get out with their basic rights stripped from them and say, “well im glad the govermment decided to ruin my life, i think ill graduate harvard now.” what hqappens is they cant even get a job at kfc so they get ahold of the friends they made while locked up and they resort to criminal activity because the system has left them no choice and no way to survive, i feel like i need to explain it to you several times in slighlty different way because you seem to be a dumbass. if people arent hurting other people there is no need for the cops or the government to need or want that individual oncarcerated. the goverment is supposed to workj for the people not act like it is in charge of people, it isnt supposed to abuse the people oor have any control over the people. it does however only see people as potential profit or a body to fill space til thet can figure out how to profit off the space. you supporting this type of behavior is sickening, youre supposed to stand with your fellow americans.
Damn, you really are that stupid. I didn’t believe that people as stupid as you really existed. It is a sad state of affairs that you are even allowed to exist. Your mother should have pinched your head off at birth and save society the trouble. By the way, you ignorant P.O.S., how do you know those people are Mexican. Just because they have a good tan is no reason to think they are Mexican. You are so stupid.
Wow, whats with all the name calling and insults, its just an opinion. And we all know what opinions are like don’t we, anonymous. Did you just get your feel good bowl of cheerios for the day?
You are stupid too! If you have to ask you are dumb and stupid.
maybe try explaining to whome or what comment youre babbling at or about? the way it stands youre just some jackass randomly bitching about nothing, nothing you said sems to connect with anything anyone else said, maybe youre a retarded person?
hey bud, put your feelings aside. its common knowledge that those counties harbour illegals. they have for decades. ive been on this earth alot longer than you, id guess based on yojur bleeding heart liberal bs. i know the difference between a tan and latin descent. youre a racist. i never said mexicans specifically. i mean all brown illegal people. why you focused on mexicans so much? other than that small thing youre wrong about… what else is “stupid” about the things i said? in short its a waste of time effort and money when our leo could be busting heroin dealers and meth dealers or rounding up illegals. if you disagree with that youre just sort of a dipshit. youre welcome to have opinions but yours shpould be kept to yourself. obviously some of my statement is how i feel and obviously, well its obvious to individuals smarter than yourself some of it is just meant to troll and trigger whiny little leftist pieces of shit like you. nothing i said in seriousness is any less than intelligent and practical. its based on emotionless logic. something a snowflake like you cant understand. your whore mom should have just been punched in the stomach the night you where conceived.
so, you think the government is good, all laws are just and we dont have heroin and meth issues in iowa? we also dont have gang activity? please tell the rest of us what was stupid in the above diatribe, lol. you couldnt be bothered to lay out specific examples in your origninal comment because youre an idiotic piece of shit who doesnt have any examples. youre just a liberal who saw firearms and went “bad” and saw the word illegals and decided youd right fight for minorities. you are a moron. all your opinions are based on emotion. the sad thing about liberals is that they base everything on emotion. their feelings are supreme. puzzles me because when youre a liberal you have usually got a case of hoplophobia which means youre suffering retarded emotional and sexual development, therefore youre emotions are not mature or developed enought to be used as a moral compass. dont get me wrong conservatives are idiots too. its just id rather see all hard core right or left wingers drown. youre all so stupid. the country doesnt have to be divided we dont have to live like this. in fear or uncomfortable always worried about dumb shit like guns or racism. if you psychophant over zealous fanatical people would just stop.