January 6, 2015

Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

A man who purchased a handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Montarrance Wilson, age 27, from Chicago, Illinois, was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

In a plea agreement, Wilson admitted that, on July 16, 2013, he purchased a handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition from a Marion, Iowa, man who had pawned the firearm. In exchange for $700, the man retrieved the firearm from the Marion pawnshop and sold it, and the ammunition, to Wilson. Later that same day, probation officers made an unannounced home visit to another felon’s apartment. Wilson fled when the officers knocked on the door. Inside, the officers found a bag belonging to Wilson containing the firearm and ammunition. Wilson was arrested in Illinois on these charges in November 2014, and was removed to this district to answer charges. Wilson was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he is a felon, having been convicted in 2007 of Deliver of Cocaine in Cook County, Illinois.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Wilson will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Wilson faces a possible maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department as part of the FBI’s Safe Street’s Task Force. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-cr-84.