A convicted felon who unlawfully possessed a gun that he used to return fire at two others in broad daylight was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison.
Timothy Postley, age 42, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a June 17, 2022 guilty plea to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon.
Evidence at multiple hearings in the case showed that, on June 6, 2021, three individuals exchanged gunfire at approximately 10:00 a.m. outside an apartment building in Cedar Rapids. Prior to the gunfire, Postley had fought physically with a second man. Following that fight, a relative of the second man opened fire at Postley with an automatic rifle and the second man fired at Postley with a handgun. Postley then temporarily fled, but returned with a handgun and shot back at the two.
Officers from the Cedar Rapids Police Department responded to the scene. Postley had his girlfriend retrieve a bag from the nearby apartment building. The girlfriend tried to walk away from the scene with the bag. Officers attempted to stop her, but she ran. Officers caught up to her and found that she had thrown the bag under a nearby car. Officers found a handgun and marijuana in the bag. The serial number on the handgun had been obliterated.
This conviction is Postley’s second federal criminal conviction. He was previously convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in 2005. He spent over a decade in federal prison because of that conviction.
Postley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Postley was sentenced to 78 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 is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Postley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt 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 22-CR-34.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
