Dubuque Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Bank, Illegally Possessing a Gun, and Selling Heroin

A man who robbed a bank, possessed a gun as a felon, and sold heroin causing an overdose, all within the span of one year, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Gregory Stapleton, age 31, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of aiding and abetting a bank robbery, distributing heroin, furanyl fentanyl, and acryl fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury, and possessing a firearm as a felon.

Court documents show that Stapleton assisted in the robbery of the Fidelity Bank and Trust in Maquoketa, Iowa, on March 8, 2017. Stapleton visited the bank the day prior to the robbery in order to “case” the bank. During the robbery, Stapleton was parked across the street listening to a police scanner. Stapleton also provided his codefendant, Dante Rhodes, a vehicle for Rhodes to drive to Maquoketa and rob the bank. Rhodes pled guilty to the bank robbery earlier this month.

Stapleton’s drug and gun charges were contained in an Information that was filed on August 9, 2017. Stapleton admitted that, on January 8, 2017, he gave a mixture of heroin, furanyl fentanyl, and acryl fentanyl to another person. The heroin mixture sold by Stapleton caused an overdose in which the victim sustained serious bodily injury. Stapleton also admitted that he possessed a firearm on July 28, 2016. Stapleton has two prior drug felony convictions and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Stapleton remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Stapleton faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $1,500,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, and up to a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Maquoketa Police Department, the Dubuque Police Department, and the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office.

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

The case file number is 17-CR-1022.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.