A man from Minnesota was sentenced June 10, 2020 to more than two years in federal prison.
Ahmed Hassan, age 26, from Pelican Rapids, Minnesota received the prison term after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a drug user.
Evidence at his change of plea and sentencing hearings revealed between December 2018 and April 2019, Hassan was an unlawful user of methamphetamine and knowingly possessed two guns and ammunition on two separate occasions. Hassan came to the attention of law enforcement during their investigation of the defendant’s other felony criminal activity, which included pimping and controlled substance violations. He was convicted in state court for those charges and sentenced to state prison. Upon his release from state prison, he must serve his federal firearms sentence.
Hassan was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Hassan was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. The federal sentence was imposed consecutive to the state sentence, so defendant must complete his state prison term first.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Hassan is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from our Project Guardian partners. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1217186/download.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-4038.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
