A man who stole fifteen firearms from a house in Waterloo, Iowa, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison. Justin Michael Barnes, age 29, from Rock Island, Illinois, received the prison term after a November 20, 2025, guilty plea to possession of firearms by a felon and possession of stolen firearms.
Barnes was previously convicted of six felonies in Iowa state courts, including thefts, forgeries, and a gun offense. In June 2024, Barnes was on parole and there was a warrant for his arrest. That month, he and his then-girlfriend, Jena Wells, stole fifteen firearms from an unoccupied house in Waterloo.
Wells acted as a lookout while Barnes stole the guns. They took the stolen guns to Wells’s home. Barnes then tried to sell the guns. During a traffic stop on June 10, 2024, Waterloo police officers located several of the stolen guns in Barnes’s backpack.
During a subsequent interview with law enforcement officers, Barnes repeatedly lied about how and where he had acquired the guns.
Barnes was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Barnes was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Jena Wells, Barnes’s girlfriend, was previously sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment on March 9, 2026.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the agencies involved to repel the invasion of violent crime and protect our communities from its perpetrators.
Barnes is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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