Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Drug User Who Possessed Multiple Firearms Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison
A man who illegally possessed multiple firearms was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison.
Devonte Wright, age 21, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 24, 2021 guilty plea to being a drug user in possession of a firearm.
Evidence in the case showed that Wright possessed at least seven firearms, including a firearm with an obliterated serial number, a stolen firearm, and an AR-15 rifle. During the time Wright possessed these firearms, he was a marijuana user. Wright posted multiple videos of himself smoking marijuana while in possession of the firearms to public social media sources.
Wright was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Wright was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment. 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 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.
Wright is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 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 21-cr-2007.
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