Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A man from Waterloo, Iowa, has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. Orrington Alexander Gardner, 41, received the sentence on February 2, 2026, following his guilty plea on July 17, 2025.
Court records show that Gardner had previously been convicted of the same offense in the Northern District of Iowa in 2009 and served the maximum sentence of ten years. He was released from federal prison in late June 2022. Less than three months later, Waterloo police received information that Gardner was again in possession of a firearm.
On September 14, 2022, officers followed Gardner from his home and stopped a car where he was a passenger. According to officials, Gardner refused repeated requests to exit the vehicle and resisted when an officer tried to remove him. During the struggle, Gardner reached toward his waistband where he had a loaded gun. Officers were able to take the weapon and arrest him after a brief struggle.
Gardner was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids to 100 months’ imprisonment and will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. He remains in custody awaiting transfer to federal prison.
"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," according to officials.
The Department of Justice launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy for PSN on May 26, 2021. The approach focuses on building trust within communities, supporting organizations that work to prevent violence before it happens, prioritizing strategic enforcement efforts, and tracking results.
Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist prosecuted the case. The investigation involved a Federal Task Force including the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
