CEDAR RAPIDS – A Waterloo man who possessed a gun as a felon and while being a marijuana user was sentenced today to 27 months in federal prison.
Shakur Demir Todd-Ellis, age 22, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison sentence following a March 17, 2020 guilty plea to possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.
Information disclosed at sentencing and at his plea hearing revealed that on March 25, 2019, a shooting occurred outside an apartment complex in Waterloo, Iowa. Two different people fired shots during the incident. Todd-Ellis was not one of the shooters, but was present during the shootings. After the shooting, one of the shooters handed Todd-Ellis his firearm and Todd-Ellis went into the nearby apartment complex with it. Officers surrounded the area and had Todd-Ellis and other occupants of the apartment unit come out. Officers then searched the apartment unit where Todd-Ellis was located. Inside the unit, officers located three firearms, including the one Todd-Ellis took from the shooter. Officers also located multiple cell phone videos of Todd-Ellis holding firearms. Todd-Ellis admitted he has used marijuana since the 6th grade. He was also convicted of felony burglary in 2017.
Todd-Ellis was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Todd-Ellis was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment. Todd-Ellis was ordered to make payment of $100 to the special assessment fund. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
