Iowa City Man Charged with Firearms Offenses

Joshua Brown, age 49, of Iowa City, Iowa, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on July 9, 2021, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. 

The Indictment alleges that, in July 2020, Brown possessed a pistol after having been convicted of unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon in Johnson County in 1995 and possession of a firearm by a felon in Cedar County in 1996.  The Indictment also alleges that the pistol was stolen and had an obliterated serial number.

If convicted, Brown faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, and three years on supervised release following any imprisonment.

Brown appeared for a detention hearing on July 14, 2021, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was released on bond.  Brown’s next appearance for trial is set for September 7, 2021.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and is being investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 21-14.

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