WATERLOO, IOWA – A man who was found by Waterloo Police in possession of a stolen safe, ammunition, and over 1000 pills containing alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, was sentenced on March 26, 2021, to more than 5 years in federal prison.
Bradley McMahan, age 36, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 13, 2020 guilty plea to being a felon and an unlawful drug user in possession of ammunition.
In a plea agreement, McMahan admitted that on October 24, 2019, Waterloo police officers searched his home and found a stolen gun safe, that contained over 1000 counterfeit pills containing alprazolam and ammunition when McMahan obtained the safe after it had been stolen.
McMahan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. McMahan was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 3-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. pFor more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1217186/download.
McMahan 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 Patrick J. Reinert and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.