Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A man from Waterloo, Iowa, has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm while awaiting sentencing on a previous federal firearms charge. Edward Earl Roby, Jr., 28, received his sentence on September 26, 2025, after pleading guilty in May to possession of a firearm by a felon.
In July 2021, Waterloo police found a gun in Roby's car during a traffic stop. Later that year, Roby pleaded guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids to being a felon in possession of the firearm related to this incident and was allowed to remain released pending sentencing.
While awaiting sentencing in February 2022, law enforcement officers encountered Roby again after responding to reports of shots fired from a red car. Officers located the vehicle and pursued it when it fled. After the car stopped, three people were found inside, including Roby in the backseat.
Police retraced the chase route and discovered a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun inside a Crown Royal bag on top of a snowbank. The weapon appeared recently discarded. Six .40 caliber shell casings were also recovered near the scene of the shooting. DNA testing later confirmed that Roby's DNA was present on both the slide and grip of the handgun.
Roby was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams to 57 months’ imprisonment and must serve an additional three-year term of supervised release after his prison term is complete. There is no parole in the federal system.
Previously, in July 2022, Roby had been sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment for his earlier firearm possession case stemming from the July 2021 incident.
Roby remains in custody with the United States Marshal until he is transported to federal prison.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt. The investigation involved members of a Federal Task Force including the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), with assistance from Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
"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," according to officials.
