Kashad Elijah Hawthorne, Gun Possession by Drug User, Iowa 2020

In a shocking turn of events, a 20-year-old Cedar Rapids resident has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for his involvement in a violent crime.

Kashad Elijah Hawthorne, a drug user, was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison on August 4, 2020, for possession of a firearm by a drug user.

The crime dates back to April 22, 2019, when Hawthorne used one of the two guns to shoot at a car containing two people. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident.

Police officers recovered a gun from a car in which Hawthorne had been a passenger on May 2, 2019, and another gun was found in another car he was riding in on May 16, 2019.

Further investigation revealed that Hawthorne had posted photographs and videos on social media showing him posing with firearms on at least thirteen occasions.

Hawthorne's case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the government's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the government's signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.

Hawthorne was sentenced by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams and will also serve a three-year term of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force, composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

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

For more information about Project Guardian, please visit https://www.justice.gov/project-guardian.

The case file number is 19-CR-121.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/shooting-car-sends-drug-user-who-unlawfully-possessed-two-guns-federal-prison-more