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Press Release

Convicted Drug Dealer Found with Firearm in Car Sentenced to Federal Prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa

A man who was found with a Taurus 709 slim 9x19mm caliber pistol and marijuana in his car was sentenced July 26, 2022, to more than three years in federal prison.

Edward Roby Jr., age 25, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 28, 2021 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.  At the guilty plea, Roby admitted that July 25, 2021, he knowingly possessed a firearm.  He also admitted that he had previously been convicted of a felony, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in Black Hawk County, Iowa, in 2018.

Roby was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Roby was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment and fined $100.  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 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.

Roby 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 Lisa Williams and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

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

The case file number is 21-cr-2057.

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Updated July 28, 2022

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Firearms Offenses