Waterloo Felon with Prior Firearm-Related Convictions Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing Handgun

Police Found a Gun Hidden Under a Couch Cushion

A man who unlawfully possessed a firearm after being convicted of a felony was sentenced on November 19, 2019, to four years in federal prison.

Shevin Caston, age 28, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.  Officers found a loaded handgun underneath a couch cushion while searching Caston’s house.  Multiple minor children lived at the house.  At the time Caston unlawfully possessed the gun, he had two prior firearm-related convictions.

Caston was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Caston was sentenced to an imprisonment term of 48 months.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob Schunk and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 19-CR-2032-LTS.    Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.