Waterloo Man Sentenced to Two Years’ Imprisonment for Unlawfully Possessing a Gun

A convicted felon who discarded a handgun while intoxicated and fleeing from police was sentenced April 26, 2018, to two years in federal prison.

Rahkeem Threex Lewis-Williams, age 26, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 7, 2017, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing established that on August 19, 2017, a Waterloo police officer attempted to stop Lewis-Williams for driving a dirt bike without a license plate.  Lewis-Williams fled from the officer and crashed his dirt bike into a fence near Lincoln Elementary.  Lewis-Williams then discarded a handgun and fled on foot into a nearby house.  Officers surrounded the house and Lewis-Williams eventually left the house and surrendered.  After officers arrested Lewis-Williams and placed him in a squad car, Lewis-Williams freed one of his hands from the cuffs and escaped the car.  He then ran into another house where officers again arrested him.  Officers later discovered that Lewis-Williams was under the influence of cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol.

Lewis-Williams was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Lewis-Williams was sentenced to 24 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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

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

The case file number is 17-CR-92-LTS.

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