Joel Perea-Duenas, Contempt of Court, Iowa 2025

Sioux City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Refusing a Court Order

A 24-year-old Sioux City man has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for contempt of court. Joel Perea-Duenas, of Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to contempt of court on July 30, 2024.

According to court documents, Perea-Duenas was involved in a drive-by shooting on June 23, 2020. He agreed to drive the getaway car, which was occupied by three armed men, and identified a new target when the original plan was abandoned due to police presence in the area. The new target was a home occupied by seven people, including children. One of the gunmen repeatedly fired upon the home, hitting it at least eight times.

Perea-Duenas was later caught by police and admitted to knowing about the intended shooting and that there were people, including children, in the targeted home. He also admitted to wanting the shooting to occur in retaliation against a resident of the home and his family.

Perea-Duenas was initially sentenced to four years in federal prison on November 19, 2021, for two counts of being a drug user in possession of a firearm. However, on October 27, 2022, he was called as a witness at the federal sentencing of an accomplice and refused to testify. The district court advised him that he did not have a lawful right to refuse to answer the questions, but Perea-Duenas persisted in his refusal.

Perea-Duenas was sent back to federal prison to complete his sentence, but on October 19, 2023, he was charged with contempt of court while still in prison. He was released from federal prison on November 20, 2023, and re-arrested and haled back into federal court to answer for his criminal contempt. On July 30, 2024, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced on January 31, 2025, to 24 months’ imprisonment and a 3-year term of supervised release.

United States Attorney Timothy T. Duax stated that ‘refusals to testify, like refusals of court orders generally, strike at the very heart of the American justice system and the rule of law.’ Judge Leonard T. Strand indicated that this was the only time in his career as a jurist that he had encountered a refusal to testify of this nature and that the crime had to be sanctioned stiffly to ensure others do not follow suit.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

Perea-Duenas is currently being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

Mandatory Facts:

Defendant/Respondent: Joel Perea-Duenas

Criminal Charges: Contempt of Court

City and State: Sioux City, Iowa

Exact Date: July 30, 2024 (guilty plea), January 31, 2025 (sentencing)

Sentence or Outcome: 24 months imprisonment, 3-year term of supervised release

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