Horsfall Also Unlawfully Possessed and Trafficked Firearms
A man who unlawfully possessed a firearm silencer was sentenced today to more than four years in federal prison.
Shane Horsfall, age 37, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a Sept. 15, 2020 guilty plea to possession of an unregistered silencer.
In a plea agreement and at sentencing, Horsfall agreed that he possessed at least 17 firearms unlawfully because was a drug user when he possessed them. He also agreed that he unlawfully purchased at least two of those firearms after having been civilly committed. Horsfall further agreed that, during the period when he was unlawfully possessing firearms, he sold more than 10 firearms, including to at least two felons and knowing that one of those felons was on parole at the time of the transaction.
Horsfall was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Horsfall was sentenced to 54 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.
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.
Horsfall was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jake Schunk and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Dubuque Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-1016-CJW.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
