A convicted felon who was caught with marijuana and a gun during a traffic stop was sentenced June 8, 2022, to five years in federal prison.
Cameron Hatcher, age 29, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 2, 2021, guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence from the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on May 2, 2021, Hatcher was stopped by an officer from the Dubuque Police Department because Hatcher was barred from driving. A police K9 alerted to the odor of drugs coming from Hatcher’s car. Officers searched the car and found marijuana and a loaded 9mm handgun. Hatcher was prohibited from possessing guns because he was convicted of the felony offense of possessing marijuana with the intent to sell it in 2016.
After catching Hatcher with the gun in his car, law enforcement officers reviewed Hatcher’s social media posts. In two videos, Hatcher could be seen with guns. In one of the videos, Hatcher is seen with a Smith and Wesson, M&P 15, 5.56x45mm rifle and a black handgun that was different from the handgun found in his car during the traffic stop.
Hatcher was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Hatcher was sentenced to 60 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.
Hatcher 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 Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department 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-cr-1022.
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