Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Gun

A convicted felon who illegally possessed a gun after previous felony drug convictions was sentenced today to two months in federal prison.

Alan Cherry, age 39, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. 

In a plea agreement, Cherry admitted that on February 24, 2018, he was driving a car that was stopped by the Cedar Rapids Police Department.  Cherry told officers that he had a gun in the car.  Officers searched the car and found a semi-automatic 9mm pistol and ammunition.  Cherry had previously been convicted of manufacture and delivery of marijuana and manufacture and delivery of cocaine, both of which are felony drug offenses.    

Cherry was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Cherry was sentenced to two 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.

Cherry was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on December 31, 2018.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force.  The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshal Service, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-0045.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.