Waterloo Felon and Domestic Abuser Sentenced to Federal Prison for Discharging Stolen Firearm

A Waterloo man who discharged a stolen firearm during an argument was sentenced today to more than five years in federal prison.  Dean Eugene Smith, age 54, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 10, 2023 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

In a plea agreement, Smith admitted that, on April 16, 2023, he was involved in an argument with a woman.  During the argument, Smith discharged a stolen firearm into the air.  After he discharged the firearm, Smith held the firearm behind his back while he shouted at the woman, until she ran away.  Smith also admitted that, prior to April 16, 2023, he had previously been convicted of several offenses that prohibited him from possessing firearms and ammunition, including third‑degree sexual abuse, domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury, domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury (second offense), first‑degree theft, multiple third‑degree burglary offenses, and several failures to comply with sex offender registry requirement offenses.                           

Smith was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Smith was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a three‑year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and 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 23-CR-02031-CJW.

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