A 23-year-old man from South Sioux City, Nebraska, has been sentenced to over two years in federal prison for possessing a firearm while being an unlawful drug user.
Esai Lopez, 23, was sentenced on April 7, 2022, after pleading guilty to being a drug user in possession of a firearm on October 7, 2021.
According to evidence presented at Lopez’s plea and sentencing hearings, he was found to be in illegal possession of a handgun on June 3, 2020. He was disarmed by police at the time. Additionally, on June 23, 2020, Lopez and three other men were involved in a shooting in Sioux City, Iowa. The men initially targeted an intended victim but aborted their attack after seeing law enforcement in the area. They then drove to a secondary target, where one of the men repeatedly fired at a home with people, including children, inside.
The evidence further revealed that on September 28, 2020, Lopez was found to be in possession of a firearm in connection with a burglary, an Iowa charge of Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon, and the shooting of a dog.
Lopez was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. He was also ordered to pay $38,863.42 in restitution to victims and the insurance company. Lopez must serve a two-year term of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Lopez is currently being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an evidence-based program aimed at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
For more information on the case, visit the court’s website at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 20-4071.
Related Federal Cases
- John Allen Lindeman Jr., Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, Iowa 2021 · Idaho
- John Allen Lindeman, Jr., Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, Iowa 2021 · Iowa
- Justin L. Coleman, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Nebraska 2022 · Iowa
- Pablo Inda, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Nebraska 2020 · Iowa
- Jehovah Horace Dixon, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Mississippi 2025 · Louisiana
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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