Christopher Matthew Davies, Gun Possession, IA 2016

Christopher Matthew Davies, 47, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was found guilty today of illegally possessing two firearms in October 2016, following a swift 40-minute bench trial held January 11, 2018, in federal court. The conviction marks another blow against illegal gun possession under the Department of Justice’s reinvigorated Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.

Davies, a convicted felon, had already been found guilty of forgery and burglary—both felony offenses—by the Iowa District Court for Linn County on September 8, 2016. Despite that status, he knowingly retrieved two firearms from his mother’s home in Cedar Rapids on October 25, 2016, after pleading guilty but before being sentenced, and pawned them for $400.

Federal evidence revealed Davies attempted to reclaim the weapons from the pawnshop, but the transaction was blocked when the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System flagged him as a prohibited person. The pawnshop, complying with federal protocol, refused to return the firearms, triggering a federal investigation.

Convicted under federal law as a felon in possession of a firearm, Davies now faces up to ten years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and up to three years of supervised release. He remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals pending sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade, which will be scheduled after a presentence report is completed.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Authorities emphasized that convictions like this are central to dismantling the cycle of violent crime in communities.

This prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide effort reinvigorated in October 2017 under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reduce violent crime through coordinated federal, state, and local enforcement. The case file, 17-CR-26-LRR, is available through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic filing system. Follow updates at @USAO_NDIA.