Demetrius Hardiman, Transferring Firearm to Prohibited Person, Ceda…

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – A late-night encounter with Cedar Rapids Police led to a stiff federal sentence for 19-year-old Demetrius Hardiman, who knowingly armed a convicted felon. Hardiman received 41 months in federal prison on November 25, 2013, after pleading guilty to one count of transferring a firearm to a prohibited person.

The events unfolded on May 8, 2013, around 1:15 a.m. when officers encountered Hardiman and his brother. A search revealed the brother illegally possessed a cocked and loaded 9mm handgun. According to court documents, Hardiman admitted to stealing the weapon the previous year. He then handed it to his brother for “protection” during a night of breaking into unlocked cars.

Hardiman’s intentions were clear: he planned to use the stolen handgun if confronted by any vehicle owners while committing the burglaries. The brazen act of supplying a weapon to someone legally barred from possessing one quickly drew federal attention. This wasn’t a case of simple possession; it was deliberate and dangerous, putting the public at risk.

United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade handed down the sentence in Cedar Rapids. In addition to the 41-month prison term, Hardiman was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and will serve a three-year term of supervised release upon completion of his sentence. Unlike state systems, there is no parole in the federal system – Hardiman will serve his time.

The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative initiative between local, state, and federal agencies focused on aggressively prosecuting gun-related crimes. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt led the prosecution, with crucial investigative work conducted by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

Hardiman is currently in the custody of the United States Marshals Service awaiting transport to a designated federal prison facility. Court file information, including case number CR 13-0037, is publicly available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. This case serves as a stark reminder that providing firearms to individuals prohibited from owning them carries severe consequences under federal law.