Two men who worked together to rob two people at gun point were convicted by a jury yesterday after a four-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Antione Maxwell, age 33, from Mason City, Iowa, and Chavee Harden, age 32, from Waterloo, Iowa, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. Maxwell was also convicted of one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The verdict was returned yesterday following about four hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that, on November 4, 2020, Maxwell and Harden worked together to rob two Waterloo residents at gun point. Testimony at trial showed that Maxwell held a firearm to one of the victim’s head and robbed them of marijuana products, money, and cell phones. The items that were stolen were later found in Harden’s house and in Maxwell’s car parked in front of Harden’s house.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Harden and Maxwell were taken into custody by the United States Marshal’s Service after the verdict was returned and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
For conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, Harden and Maxwell each face a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
For possessing a firearm as a felon, Maxwell faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
For using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, Maxwell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dillan Edwards and Patrick Reinert and was investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-2013.
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