Michael Coates, Firearms Theft, Iowa 2021

A Dubuque man has been sentenced to federal prison after stealing a firearm from an acquaintance’s home in Iowa and transporting it to Wisconsin.

Micheal Coates, 28, from Cassville, Wisconsin, received a 46-month prison term after a guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon. The crime occurred on November 30, 2019.

At the guilty plea, Coates admitted he possessed the stolen revolver on November 30, 2019, and took it to Wisconsin. He was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine in Dubuque County, Iowa, in 2014.

Coates was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. He was fined $100 and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime. PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Coates is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Dupuich and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case file number is 20-CR-1025. Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

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