A Cedar Rapids woman who was an unlawful user of methamphetamine and possessed a gun pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Melissa Kurth, age 38, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of being an unlawful user of methamphetamine in possession of a firearm. At the plea hearing, Kurth admitted that she possessed a gun on Jan. 26, 2018, when she was stopped by officers from the Cedar Rapids Police Department. During the stop officers recovered a gun, two digital scales, and two syringes. Kurth also admitted she was an unlawful user of methamphetamine for an extended period of time.
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.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Kurth remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Kurth faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 18-CR-00056.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
