U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney
Southern District of Iowa

Southern District of Iowa

www.justice.gov/usao/ias

For Immediate Release

Monday, October 31, 2011

Nebraska Man Sentenced on Firearms Charges

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA — On October 28, 2011, Eric Steven Blevins, age 26, of Norfolk, Nebraska, was sentenced for being an illegal user of drugs in possession of a firearm and ammunition, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge James E. Gritzner sentenced Eric Steven Blevins to 15 months of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Judge Gritzner also imposed a $100.00 assessment for the Crime Victim Fund, and ordered the forfeiture of the seized pistol and ammunition. Blevins remains in the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at which he will serve his sentence.

On January 26, 2011, the federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Blevins, charging him with being an unlawful user of marijuana in possession of a 9mm pistol and ammunition. The charge arose from Council Bluffs police officers on October 3, 2010, finding Blevins and another person at a Council Bluffs motel with marijuana and K2 (synthetic marijuana). Outside the window of the motel room in which Blevins was staying, officers found an unloaded 9mm pistol and ammunition. Subsequent investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives further linked the firearm and ammunition to Blevins, and demonstrated that Blevins had a lengthy history of use of marijuana, including on or about October 3, 2010. Blevins entered a guilty plea to the charge on June 30, 2011.

This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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