Storm Lake Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Firearm Possession

DOJ Press January 10, 2022

judge with gavel, stock photo.

A man who illegally possessed a firearm and ammunition pled guilty January 6, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City.

Leonard Weimer, 47, from Storm Lake, Iowa, was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Weimer was previously convicted of felony offenses including Terrorism, Burglary, and controlled substance offenses. Each of these convictions prohibited Weimer from legally possessing firearms or ammunition.

At the plea hearing, evidence showed that on April 2, 2021, Storm Lake law enforcement stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. Weimer was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle. It was determined Weimer was barred from driving, therefore was placed under arrest. During a search of Weimer at arrest, law enforcement discovered a small amount of methamphetamine and several rounds of .22 ammunition in Weimer’s pocket. Weimer admitted to being a felon. A drug detection K-9 was then deployed on the vehicle and indicated to the presence of controlled substances. A search of the vehicle uncovered a .22 Marlin Rifle and additional .22 ammunition.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Weimer remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Weimer faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office, Storm Lake Police Department, Sac County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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

The case file number is 21-4058.