A 25-year-old Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to 45 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a drug user and wire fraud.
Jacques Simpson, a 25-year-old from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 7, 2022, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a drug user and one count of wire fraud.
In a plea agreement, Simpson admitted that he knowingly possessed a firearm as a drug user. Late at night on November 9, 2021, a Cedar Rapids police officer came across a vehicle parked in a city park containing Simpson and a female. The officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.
Simpson admitted he had a firearm in his sweatshirt pocket. A Glock 19 9x19mm caliber pistol was found with a loaded magazine and one round chambered. Four additional loaded magazines of various calibers were found in Simpson’s car.
On November 24, 2021, Simpson bought another gun and lied on the ATF form about being a user of marijuana. On November 25, 2021, Simpson’s vehicle was stopped by law enforcement in Illinois. Simpson smelled of marijuana and had a BAC of .086%. During a search of Simpson, officers found the firearm purchased the day before.
Simpson bought two more guns and again lied on the ATF forms about being a user of marijuana. On December 8, 2021, Simpson’s vehicle was stopped by law enforcement in Cedar Rapids. The officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Simpson admitted being an unlawful drug user and admitted smoking marijuana earlier that day.
Simpson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Simpson was ordered to pay $19,790 in restitution to Capital Plus Financial, LLC, and $16,250 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.
Simpson 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 Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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.
Related Federal Cases
- Devonta Cobbs, Armed Firearm Possession by a Drug User, Iowa 2024 · Iowa
- Gabriel Krusen, Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, Iowa 2023 · Massachusetts
- Ronald Lee Behee Jr, Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, Iowa 2025 · Iowa
- DEA Des Moines Office, Prescription Drug Abuse, Iowa 2024 · Iowa
- Jevonne Martell Coleman, Possessing Firearm by Felon, IA 2017 · Iowa
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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