Waterloo, IA – Edward Earl Roby Jr., a 28-year-old convicted felon from Waterloo, Iowa, has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison after being caught with a gun while awaiting sentencing on a prior firearms charge. Roby’s latest conviction stems from an incident in July 2021 when he was found with a firearm during a traffic stop. Following his guilty plea on May 13, 2025, the court imposed a sentence of 57 months’ imprisonment.
Roby’s criminal history includes a prior conviction for being a felon in possession of a gun, which he pleaded guilty to in December 2021. The incident that led to this conviction occurred in July 2021 when Waterloo police discovered a gun in Roby’s car during a traffic stop. Despite his earlier charges, Roby was allowed to remain released.
In February 2022, while awaiting sentencing on the 2021 charge, law enforcement officers stumbled upon another firearm-related incident. After responding to reports of shots fired, officers found Roby and two others in a car that had fled the scene. A .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was recovered nearby, with Roby’s DNA linked to it. This new offense landed him an additional 41 months’ imprisonment.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams presided over Roby’s sentencing in Cedar Rapids. In addition to his prison term, Roby must serve a three-year term of supervised release after his release from prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a Federal Task Force involving multiple local law enforcement agencies.
This latest sentence is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence across the nation. Roby is currently being held in U.S. Marshal’s custody pending transportation to a federal prison. Court file information for this case can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with case file numbers 21-CR-2057 and 25-CR-02015. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Iowa on X at @USAO_NDIA.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Public Corruption|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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