Johnny Martell Brown, Possessing Stolen Firearm, Iowa 2023

A Chicago man was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.

Johnny Martell Brown, age 31, received the prison term after an October 20, 2023 guilty plea to possessing a firearm as a felon and drug user in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

According to court documents, on December 16, 2022, law enforcement officers stopped a car that Brown was driving in Cedar Rapids. Two minor children were also in the car. Officers searched the car and found a loaded stolen firearm and marijuana, while a Cheetos bag containing marijuana was discovered in Brown's underwear.

Brown admitted that he regularly smoked marijuana and had felony convictions for conspiracy to distribute heroin and possessing a controlled substance.

Brown was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams to 57 months' imprisonment and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Brown is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence in communities.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/chicago-man-caught-stolen-firearm-and-marijuana-sent-prison-possessing-firearm