A former member of the military, Matthew James Stover, 31, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been sentenced to serve a five year term of probation for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Stover pleaded guilty on November 14, 2013, to one count of possessing a semi-automatic assault rifle and ammunition as an unlawful drug user. In a plea agreement, Stover admitted he possessed an AR-15 assault rifle, a magazine containing 59 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition, another magazine for the weapon, and about 600 additional rounds of .223 caliber ammunition on August 15, 2013.
The warrant was executed after Marion, Iowa, Police officers encountered Stover after he purchased marijuana in a park in Marion. Stover was sentenced on August 24, 2014, in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.
Stover was sentenced to serve a 5 year term of probation with special conditions requiring continued mental health treatment, abstinence from the use of alcohol or drugs, remote alcohol testing, and not being permitted in the unsupervised presence of a child under the age of 12, including his minor daughter. The sentence represented a downward departure from the advisory federal sentencing guidelines range of 30-37 months imprisonment.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Reade noted Stover has been diagnosed as suffering from several mental health conditions, including PTSD, that predated and post-dated his military service. Further, while Stover has performed well under pre-trial treatment and supervision, Judge Reade noted he had a history of non-compliance with drug and mental health treatment, as well as a history of violence.
Stover had previously assaulted his wife and choked his stepson, and in March 2012 caused an injury to his infant daughter that resulted in her skull being crushed. The court also noted that Stover had made statements, in the months prior to his arrest, indicating he wanted to go back to Afghanistan to kill and engage in radical jihad. These statements raised concerns with family members as well as local and federal law enforcement officers.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard L. Murphy and investigated by the Marion, Iowa, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-CR-68-LRR.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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