CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – Joseph Griffin-Cooke, 29, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is headed to federal prison for a decade after being caught with a stolen .380 caliber pistol and drugs. The sentence was handed down today by Chief United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade, bringing a close to a case stemming from a late-night traffic stop in October 2013.
According to court documents, Cedar Rapids police spotted Griffin-Cooke driving suspiciously around 4:00 am on October 2, 2013. When officers approached, Griffin-Cooke refused to cooperate and began frantically reaching under the seat of his vehicle. A struggle ensued, leaving one officer injured, before officers were able to restrain him. The search revealed a loaded, stolen .380 pistol, marijuana packaged for street sales, and a stash of cash.
Griffin-Cooke’s legal troubles didn’t end with the gun and drugs. He was already a convicted felon, having been sentenced in 2007 in Linn County District Court for delivery of crack cocaine. This prior conviction barred him from legally possessing any firearms. He pleaded guilty on February 6, 2014, to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Prosecutors, led by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams, successfully argued for the maximum sentence of 120 months (10 years) imprisonment, citing Griffin-Cooke’s extensive criminal history, which included multiple violent assaults. The court also imposed a $100 special assessment and a three-year term of supervised release to begin after his prison term. Unlike state systems, there is no parole in the federal system.
The bust was a collaborative effort between the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, operating as part of the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force. The case also fell under the umbrella of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, a national program aimed at reducing gun violence.
Griffin-Cooke is currently in the custody of the United States Marshals Service and will be transported to a federal prison to begin serving his sentence. Court file information, including case number 13-cr-90, is available to the public at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. This case serves as a stark reminder that possessing illegal firearms carries severe consequences, particularly for those with prior convictions.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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