Yoni Duenas, 28, from Sioux City, was sentenced on July 23 to six years in federal prison following his guilty plea on April 7 to possession of a firearm by a felon and drug user.
According to court records, on January 2 just before midnight, a Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped a vehicle driven by Duenas for an equipment violation. Duenas appeared impaired and lost consciousness during field sobriety tests. Authorities reported an overpowering odor of marijuana inside the car, where they also found a female passenger, two children aged four and one, marijuana, methamphetamine, and a loaded handgun.
Duenas’ criminal history includes three state convictions for possession of controlled substances—methamphetamine—and five offenses related to the criminal use or possession of firearms. He previously served time for a federal felony conviction involving multiple firearms on different occasions. After completing his first federal sentence and being placed under supervised release, Duenas violated the terms multiple times and was returned to prison three times. He was arrested again just 38 days after finishing his most recent sentence when he was found armed by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Duenas in Sioux City to 72 months’ imprisonment with an additional three-year term of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Duenas remains in United States Marshal’s custody pending transport to federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa prosecutes federal crimes across 52 counties covering more than 25,120 square miles in northern Iowa; it employs over 60 staff members including more than 20 assistant U.S. attorneys and advocates for approximately 1.3 million residents in its jurisdiction as part of the U.S. Department of Justice, according to its official website.