Admitted Using Gun to Further His Drug Trafficking
A convicted felon who unlawfully possessed guns and used those guns to further his distribution of marijuana was sentenced May 30, 2018, to more than 10 years in federal prison.
Danquel Antwain Faulkner, age 23, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a Feb. 22, 2018, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
In a plea agreement, Faulkner admitted he possessed a gun on three separate occasions. He further admitted that on two of the times he possessed a gun, he used the gun to further a drug crime, namely his distribution of marijuana. One of the guns Faulkner possessed had been stolen from America’s 2nd Amendment Firearms on June 3, 2017. Faulkner has previous felony convictions for possessing a stolen vehicle, escape, and possession of a controlled substance.
Faulkner was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. Faulkner was sentenced to 124 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-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 that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
Faulkner 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 Emily K. Nydle and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Hiawatha Police Department, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, and the Loves Park, Illinois, Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 17-cr-00080.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
