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Convicted Felon Sentenced to 8+ Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Handgun
A convicted felon who possessed a handgun and fled from police has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison. Daijon Stokes, age 32, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 10, 2025, guilty plea to one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
Information from the sentencing hearing showed that on December 3, 2023, Stokes was stopped by an officer with the Waterloo Police Department. During the stop, Stokes took off in his car, reaching speeds of nearly 90 mph while driving through a residential area. Stokes eventually crashed his car into another vehicle, and a woman and two young children were in the other vehicle. Stokes then ran from officers on foot and had to be tackled. Officers found a loaded handgun, marijuana, and other drugs in the car.
Daijon Stokes was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Stokes was sentenced to 104 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Daijon Stokes 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 Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 24-cr-2012. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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