Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A Dubuque man who shot a pedestrian multiple times in August 2017 was sentenced May 13, 2019, to nine years in federal prison. 

Jevonne Martell Coleman, age 33, from Dubuque, received the prison term after a November 21, 2018, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Coleman had a verbal altercation with a pedestrian on August 9, 2017.  Later that evening, Coleman and a friend were sitting on a stoop on Locust Street when the pedestrian walked to their location.  Coleman’s friend “cold cocked” the pedestrian and the pedestrian ran away.  Coleman ran after the pedestrian, raised a firearm, and shot a number of times.  The pedestrian suffered multiple gunshot wounds but survived.  Coleman then hid the firearm in a bush and hid himself in a bluff.  Officers discovered Coleman in short order.  Coleman’s blood alcohol content was .315% according to a preliminary breath test.

Coleman was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Coleman was sentenced to 108 months’ imprisonment and fined $100.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

At sentencing, Judge Williams stressed the seriousness of the offense.  Judge Williams found Coleman committed attempted murder, rejecting attempts by Coleman to justify the shooting, including Coleman’s invocation of Iowa’s “Stand Your Ground Law” at sentencing.  Coleman has multiple prior convictions relating to controlled substances, including dealing drugs near a school, in Cook County, Illinois.

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.

Coleman 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 Tim Vavricek and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-1017.

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