A Muscatine man, Robert Owen Knapp, III, has been sentenced to 58 months in federal prison after being found in possession of a firearm as a felon. According to public court documents, Knapp, 33, fled on foot with a pistol following an attempted traffic stop in May 2024. He was apprehended while holding the weapon.
At the time of his arrest, Knapp was on federal supervised release stemming from a 2017 conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. After serving his current prison term, he will be required to complete four years of supervised release. Federal law does not allow parole.
The court also revoked Knapp’s supervised release related to his previous conviction and imposed an additional nine-month prison sentence, which will run consecutively to his new 58-month sentence.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the sentencing. The Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by fostering cooperation among law enforcement agencies and communities. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched an updated strategy for PSN focused on building community trust and legitimacy, supporting organizations that prevent violence before it starts, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring outcomes. More information about Project Safe Neighborhoods can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psn.
