SIOUX CITY – A Northern Iowa drug user who illegally possessed explosive devices and guns was sentenced January 19, 2022, to 5 years in federal prison.
Darrell H. Sorey, age 37, from Arnold’s Park, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 15, 2021, guilty plea to one count of receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device.
Evidence in this case revealed on January 12, 2020, Sorey’s father died in a rollover vehicle accident in Marion County, Iowa. At the scene of the accident an AR-15 rifle, a SKS style rifle, drum-magazines, ammunition, a pipe bomb and two CO2 “cricket” bombs – all three with fuses attached – were found. These discoveries, inside the car and in the debris field, led to January 15, 2020 searches of three residences in Dickinson County, Iowa. During one of the searches, investigators located Sorey, narcotics, drug paraphernalia, more CO2 cartridge bombs, including a CO2 cartridge bomb attached to an arrow, gunpowder, and a cellular telephone. During another of the two searches two .22 caliber rifles, one shotgun, and multiple rounds of ammunition for those firearms were discovered. Sorey’s criminal history includes convictions for interference with official acts, simple assault, disorderly conduct, multiple OWIs and controlled substance offenses.
Sorey was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Sorey was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. Sorey must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was 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.
Sorey is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Marion County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol, the State Fire Marshal’s Division, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (all of the Iowa Department of Public Safety), the Dickinson County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office, the Milford, Iowa Police Department, the Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force, and the United States Department of Justice – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
