A man who threatened to kill a Cedar Rapids woman was convicted by a jury today after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Darrell Junior Sims, age 29, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The verdict was returned this morning following about an hour and a half of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that during a phone call on Jan. 27, 2017, Sims threatened to kill a female companion. When the woman asked what he planned to kill her with, Sims told her to look under her mattress. The woman looked under the mattress and found a loaded revolver and a loaded pistol. The woman contacted the United States Marshals Service, and two Deputy Marshals arrived and collected the firearms. While the deputies were collecting the firearms, Sims called the woman again. A deputy recorded the conversations, during which Sims accused the woman of allowing his guns to be stolen.
Sentencing before Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Sims remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Sims faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 17-CR-5-LTS.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
