CEDAR RAPIDS – A convicted Waterloo felon and drug user who was caught after firing his gun outside a bar will have a long stay in a federal prison.
Ezekiel Menteer, age 24, of Waterloo, was sentenced on January 24, 2024, to 70 months in federal prison after an August 9, 2023, guilty plea to one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. At the plea hearing, Menteer admitted that, in January 2022, he possessed a Kimber pistol after having been convicted of a felony and while being an unlawful drug user. Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing showed that defendant used the pistol to fire eight shots outside a Waterloo bar.
Menteer was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Menteer was sentenced to 70 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Waterloo Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.