Desmond Staggers, 26, of Iowa City, Iowa, was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison after buying seven firearms for his heroin and fentanyl dealer.
A federal judge in Cedar Rapids sentenced Staggers on April 10, 2025, after he pleaded guilty on October 10, 2024, to one count of possession of firearms by an unlawful user of controlled substance.
According to court documents, Staggers purchased the firearms at the direction of his dealer between 2023 and 2024. At the time, Staggers was a user and addict of heroin and fentanyl. After buying the firearms, he handed them directly over to the dealer.
On top of the prison time, Staggers will serve a three-year term of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Staggers was released on bond and must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Desmond Staggers, whose full name is Desmond Staggers, is the defendant/respondent in this case. He was charged with one count of possession of firearms by an unlawful user of controlled substance. The crime occurred in Iowa City, Iowa.
The court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 24-CR-0084.
Follow the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on X at @USAO_NDIA.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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