Givens Convicted

A Cedar Rapids man with a history of drug trafficking has been convicted of unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. Gregory Givens, age 29, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was found guilty by a jury after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

The verdict was returned after about two and one-half hours of jury deliberations, with Givens being convicted of one count of possession of ammunition by a felon and one count of possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. The evidence presented at trial showed that on October 7, 2010, Givens was stopped by a Cedar Rapids police officer for a traffic violation, during which officers smelled and recovered a large quantity of marijuana and a box of 9mm ammunition from inside the car.

Givens provided the police officer with a false name and identification and lied about his criminal history. However, a later investigation revealed that Givens had twice been convicted in 2002 in Cook County, Illinois, under two different names, of felony possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. The evidence also showed that on December 22, 2010, Cedar Rapids police officers executed a search warrant at an apartment where Givens was staying, finding a large quantity of marijuana inside the mattress and crack cocaine on the floor.

Givens had previously pled guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to deliver in Iowa District Court for the marijuana found on October 7 and December 22, 2010. During his trial, Givens refused to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the United States District Court, refused to participate in his trial, and refused to be in the courtroom. His identity on all of his convictions and arrests was confirmed through fingerprint analysis.

Sentencing for Givens will be set after a presentence report is prepared, with the defendant facing a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment for the ammunition conviction. For the crack cocaine conviction, Givens faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and not more than life on supervised release following any imprisonment.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number being CR 12-55.