Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
Issac Rayford, age 32, from Sioux City, was sentenced on March 26 to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty on October 21, 2025, to possession of a firearm by a felon, drug user, and domestic abuse misdemeanant.
The case highlights the intersection of domestic violence and illegal firearm possession. Authorities say Rayford's actions placed others at risk and led to his prosecution under federal law.
According to evidence presented in court, on November 2, 2024, Rayford’s girlfriend found his loaded firearm on the toilet bowl while he was showering. Fearing what he might do with the gun, she hid it. After discovering it missing, Rayford violently attacked her—throwing her down and placing his weight on her face before choking her and breaking her clavicle. She escaped when he began searching elsewhere for the weapon; a neighbor called police as Rayford fled the scene before officers arrived. Two days later she reported seeing him enter her home via security camera footage; officers responded and took him into custody without further incident.
Rayford has prior convictions including two serious assaults; domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury; disorderly conduct involving choking a female; disorderly conduct endangering a baby and threatening others; interfering with official acts by fleeing police; driving while barred or suspended; and failing to appear for court.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand imposed a sentence of forty-eight months’ imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative using Department of Justice resources against illegal immigration and violent crime perpetrators such as cartels or transnational criminal organizations.
Rayford remains in United States Marshal’s custody pending transport to federal prison. The case was investigated by Sioux City Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild prosecuting.
