Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
Victor Howard, a 28-year-old resident of Sioux City, was found guilty by a jury on charges related to firearms possession and making false statements. The conviction came after a three-day trial in federal court.
Howard faced two counts of possessing firearms as an unlawful user of controlled substances and two counts of making false statements during firearm purchases. The jury reached its verdict after approximately four hours of deliberation.
The trial revealed that Howard was initially investigated as a shooting victim but admitted to shooting at someone over a dispute. He acknowledged waiting for the shooter while smoking marijuana and using Xanax illegally. The investigation uncovered that Howard purchased 25 firearms between November 2021 and September 2022, often providing false information about his drug use to acquire them.
Sentencing will be determined by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand following the preparation of a presentence report. Howard is currently in custody and faces up to 15 years in prison with an additional three years of supervised release.
The case involved investigations by several agencies including the Sioux City Police Department, Sgt. Bluff Police Department, ATF, and FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons is prosecuting the case.
