Waterloo Drug User Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Stolen Firearm

A man who possessed a stolen firearm while being a drug user was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.

Chase David Grant, age 20, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 17, 2020 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

In April 2018, law enforcement officers observed videos on social media showing Grant using drugs, including marijuana, and that, in at least one video, he appeared to have a gun.  Later that month, officers were preparing to conduct a search at Grant’s home when they saw three individuals attempting to enter his home with a gun.  Officers stopped the individuals.  One of the individuals told officers that they had previously stolen the gun they had from Grant.  He also told officers that they were there to collect money from Grant.  Grant later admitted that the gun the three individuals possessed had been stolen from him.  He also admitted that he had stolen that gun from someone in Colorado.  Grant was a user of controlled substances at the time he possessed this stolen gun. 

Since April 2018, Grant has been convicted of a number of state offenses, including burglary, forgery, malicious prosecution, possession of marijuana with the intend to deliver, failure to affix a tax stamp, and carrying weapons.  The carrying weapons offense stemmed from a November 2018 traffic stop during which Grant was driving a car that smelled like marijuana and a firearm was found in the driver’s side door panel of the vehicle.

Grant was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Grant was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-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.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/download?inline.

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

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and 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. 

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

The case file number is 19-cr-2047.

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