Possessed five guns after previous felony convictions for kidnapping and aggravated assault
A convicted felon who repeatedly possessed firearms while also using drugs was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison.
George Raymond Bounds, age 49, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a Dec. 23, 2019 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and a drug user.
Information disclosed during the case shows that Bounds is a three-time felon. He was previously convicted of burglary, kidnapping, and aggravated assault in Arizona in 1996. Between March 2018 and February 2019, Bounds possessed five different firearms on four separate occasions. Bounds repeatedly obtained firearms after officers had seized firearms from him. Testing showed his DNA was on all five firearms. Two of the firearms had altered or obliterated serial numbers.
Bounds was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Bounds was sentenced to 80 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.
Bounds is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
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.
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. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1217186/download.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force. The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-CR-69.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
