Felon Who Discharged a Shotgun Receives More than Two Years in Prison

Fired the Gun into the Air as Part of a Dispute with Another Person

A man who discharged a shotgun during a dispute was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.

Timothy Rabineau, age 45, from Oxford Junction, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 25, 2019 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence during the case showed that Rabineau was involved in a dispute with another individual.  That individual drove by Rabineau’s home in Oxford Junction to continue the argument.  When the individual drove by, Rabineau got a shotgun from his home and discharged it once in the air as the individual drove by.  Rabineau was a felon, having previously been convicted of possession of stolen property in 2001 and third degree burglary in 2001.

Rabineau was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Rabineau was sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment.  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.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners: [list partners here]. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1217186/download.

Rabineau is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Jones County Sheriff’s Office. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-CR-0102.