Two men from the Quad Cities area have been sentenced to federal prison for firearms and drug offenses, according to an announcement from United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa.
Court documents and evidence presented during sentencing show that Jewahn Lequez Walton, 28, and Preston Manning McDowell Jr., 26, attempted to evade law enforcement in June 2024 by throwing loaded firearms from a vehicle driven by Walton. In July 2024, McDowell was found with another firearm in Davenport despite being prohibited from possessing guns due to several previous felony convictions, including a 2022 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
Walton was arrested in May 2025 and found with cocaine intended for distribution and a loaded firearm. He is also barred from having firearms because of a 2018 felony conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine in the Illinois Circuit Court for Rock Island County.
McDowell received a sentence of 72 months in prison, which will run consecutively to his supervised revocation sentence. He will also serve three years on supervised release after his prison term. Walton was sentenced to 100 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Federal sentences do not include parole.
The case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department and the Bettendorf Police Department.
The prosecution falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative designed to reduce violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and community organizations. The program emphasizes building trust within communities, supporting organizations that work on violence prevention, setting targeted enforcement priorities, and tracking outcomes. More details about PSN can be found at Justice.gov/PSN.
