Marijuana Dealer Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Sawed-Off Shotgun

A Waterloo man who illegally possessed a sawed-off shotgun was sentenced on May 31, 2018, to more than two years in federal prison.

Traeves Dashonn Bowers, age 33, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 27, 2017, guilty plea to possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

In a plea agreement, Bowers admitted that during March 2017, he was selling marijuana from his home on Shilliam Avenue in Waterloo.  Waterloo Police searched his Shilliam Avenue residence that month and found over 26 grams of marijuana, a sawed-off shotgun, and a rifle.

Bowers was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Bowers was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two‑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), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Bowers is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

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

The case file number is 17-CR-02081-LTS.

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