A Dubuque man has been sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for possessing multiple firearms as a felon. Bailey Michael Valentine, 26, of Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon on February 27, 2026.
Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing showed that in May 2024, law enforcement officers pulled over a car in which Valentine was a passenger. Officers found Valentine’s backpack in the car, which contained methamphetamine. Later that day, officers searched his house and found a stolen and loaded gun. Valentine continued to possess a firearm on multiple occasions after that, including in July 2024, when officers pulled over another car that Valentine was driving and found a loaded gun that belonged to Valentine, as well as ammunition that he had stolen earlier in the day.
Valentine has an extensive criminal history, including two drug-related felony convictions from 2021. He was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 96 months’ imprisonment, which is equivalent to 8 years, and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Valentine 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 Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives and the Dubuque Drug Task Force.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Valentine’s case file number is 25-CR-1031 and can be accessed at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA for updates on this and other cases.
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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