Antonio Donnell Johnson, Unlawful Firearm Possession, Iowa 2019

A 32-year-old Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a loaded gun and narcotics while driving.

Antonio Donnell Johnson, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was driving when police pulled him over for driving while barred, according to court documents. Johnson provided a false name to law enforcement, and officers found a loaded 9mm Beretta handgun under his seat and marijuana and ecstasy on his person.

Johnson admitted to smoking marijuana and possessing the gun. He was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he was previously convicted of both a felony and a crime of domestic violence.

Johnson pleaded guilty on November 7, 2019, to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams to 60 months’ imprisonment, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Dupuich and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force. The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the government’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.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the government’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the government’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence.

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