A man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced April 1, 2022, to more than 2 years in federal prison.
Jamaal Ferguson, 22, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 1, 2021, guilty plea to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
The evidence in the case revealed that on August 7, 2021, Ferguson criminally possessed a loaded handgun and 28 grams of marijuana. This most recent offense was the last in a number of incidents involving Ferguson.
After participating in a violent home invasion on January 29, 2016, where a victim was forced to his knees, threatened, hit in the eye, and robbed at gunpoint, Ferguson attempted to do another home invasion robbery on February 5, 2016. Because of these incidents, Ferguson was adjudicated delinquent and sent to the Iowa State Training School for Boys. Within a year of discharge, on May 5, 2018, Ferguson assembled a group and committed another home invasion. This time Ferguson was not there to commit a robbery, this time he was there specifically to commit an assault (even hitting the victim in the face with brass knuckles). Following the incident, Ferguson was convicted but sentenced to probation. While on probation, on February 19, 2019, Ferguson committed another home invasion. He hit and kicked the victim in the head and threatened multiple people with a handgun. On February 19, 2019, law enforcement recovered a handgun possibly used in the February 2019 home invasion, and a semi-automatic rifle. Ferguson was again convicted. Despite multiple criminal convictions, and despite being a prohibited possessor of guns, sometime before August 7, 2021, Ferguson criminally rearmed again.
Ferguson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Ferguson was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Ferguson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
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 investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the USDOJ’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4084. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.