A Dubuque teenager and felon that possessed firearms was sentenced October 20, 2022, to more than four years in federal prison.
Dairein Dawon Dean, age 19, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 17, 2022 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Information disclosed at sentencing showed that, prior to September 2021, Dean had been convicted of several felony offenses, including trafficking in stolen weapons, reckless use of firearm causing property damage, escape from custody, second‑degree burglary, and second‑degree criminal mischief. On September 4, 2021, law enforcement stopped Dean’s vehicle for having fraudulent license plates. During the traffic stop, Dean fled on foot, eluding officers. Officers searched Dean’s vehicle and recovered a loaded pistol. Then, on January 9, 2022, Dean fired several shots from his vehicle and struck an occupied residence at least five times.
Dean was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Dean was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a three‑year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Dean 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 Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives, and Firearms, and the Dubuque Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22‑CR‑01004.
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