Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Gun and Ammunition

A convicted felon who possessed a gun and ammunition and discharged the gun inside a Cedar Rapids apartment building was sentenced today to more than seven years in federal prison.

Brian Lee Brown, age 39, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 2, 2017, guilty plea to one count of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition. While imposing the sentence, the Court noted that Brown had an extensive criminal history going back to age 18 and that he had a history of violence. The Court also noted that Brown possessed a rifle and live ammunition and that he discharged the rifle in his apartment. The round went through his apartment wall and into an adjacent apartment. A woman and two children were in that apartment, but no one was injured.

Brown was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. Brown was sentenced to eighty-seven months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Brown is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt 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 16-CR-96.

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