Was on parole for prior felonies when he possessed the gun
A Waterloo man who unlawfully possessed a firearm was sentenced today to 46 months in federal prison.
Karon Bennett, age 22, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 4, 2021 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Information disclosed at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on Nov. 21, 2020, Bennett possessed a Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol after previously being convicted of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, burglary in the second degree, and unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon. Bennett was apprehended by law enforcement shortly after a 9-1-1 caller reported that he was attempting to break into a garage in Waterloo. At the time he possessed the gun, Bennett was on parole for the prior felony convictions.
Bennett was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Bennett was sentenced to 46 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.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melissa A. Carrington and investigated by the Waterloo 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 21-CR-2005.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
