Waterloo Man Charged with Being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm

Ezekiel Menteer, age 23, of Waterloo, has been charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.  The charge is contained in an Indictment unsealed on February 8, 2023, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. 

The Indictment alleges that, in January 2022, Menteer possessed a Kimber pistol while being an unlawful drug user and after having been convicted of a felony.

If convicted, Menteer faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years on supervised release following any imprisonment.

Menteer appeared for an initial appearance today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond.  Menteer’s next appearance for trial is set for September 5, 2023.

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 Waterloo Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 23-2009.

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