Mota was found in possession of marijuana and cocaine after he admitted firing handguns into the air.
A man from Sioux City, Iowa who admitted being a user of illegal drugs, and who was found in possession of guns, was sentenced to federal prison for firearms charges.
Jason Mota, age 27, from Sioux City, Iowa received the prison term after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a drug user.
Evidence at his detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed Mota was an unlawful user and trafficker of cocaine and marijuana, and illegally in possession of five guns. On May 3, 2020, Mota’s crime was discovered when officers responded to a shots fired call. Citizen witnesses described a male walking on the sidewalk firing handguns into the air. They were able to inform law enforcement of where the shooter went after he fired the weapons. When police approached Mota’s apartment, Mota walked out and confessed to being the shooter. Mota gave consent to search his home, and officers found guns, $2,000 in cash, packaging materials, a digital scale, pounds of marijuana and 100 grams of cocaine.
At his sentencing, Mota claimed he had been hording drugs to support his own personal use in a time of pandemic. The district court did not credit the claim and instead concluded he had possessed his guns in connection with his drug trafficking activity.
Mota was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Mota was sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-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.
Mota is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
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 20-4034.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
