Northern District of Iowa

Jesse Raymond Akers, 20, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced today to serve 148 months’ in federal prison for possessing firearms as an unlawful drug user, and for possessing stolen firearms. Akers had pled guilty to both offenses on August 17, 2012.

On June 20, 2010, Curtis Grandon, James Porchia Frazier, Sakariya Muhidin, and Jesse Akers burglarized a residence in Marion, Iowa, and stole several items, including seventeen firearms. Only three of the guns were recovered after the burglary. One gun was recovered after being used in a shooting in Michigan. Two guns were recovered in a residence in Marion, Iowa. One of the guns that has not yet been recovered is a SKS semi-automatic assault rifle. Frazier, Muhidin and Grandon have previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison on federal charges related to the theft of the guns.

Akers was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. The sentence was ordered to be served consecutive to a five-year prison sentence Akers is now serving in the State of Iowa for committing several burglaries and aggravated theft in Linn County and Jones County, Iowa. In addition to being sentenced to serve 148 months’ in federal prison, Akers was ordered to pay a special assessment of $200 and to serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Judge Reade noted that she increased Akers’ sentence due to a variety of factors including Akers’ dangerousness to the community; likelihood to re-offend; his extensive criminal record and his history of substance abuse. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard L. Murphy and was investigated by the Marion, Iowa, Police Department.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 11-00164 LRR.

A man who conspired to distribute crack cocaine was sentenced December 28, 2012, to more than 10 years in federal prison.

Jason Martinez, 30, from Omaha, Nebraska, received the prison term after a June 28, 2012, guilty plea to distribution of crack cocaine, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and illegal possession of a firearm. Martinez was previously convicted of possession with intent to distribute in Douglas County Court for Nebraska in 2008, and in 2002, Martinez was convicted of criminal sale of controlled substance in New York.

At the guilty plea, Martinez admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed more than 280 grams of crack cocaine from 2010 through June 2011. Martinez admitted to obtaining crack cocaine from sources in Omaha, Nebraska, and reselling it in Sioux City. On November 23, 2011, in Sac County, Iowa, Martinez was stopped by law enforcement officers and subject to a search, officers located over 72 grams of marijuana, over 3 grams of crack cocaine and a .22 caliber pistol. On two occasions in May 2011, and June 2011, Martinez distributed, in total, over 10 grams of crack cocaine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.

Martinez was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Donald E. O’Brien. Martinez was sentenced to 130 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $300 was imposed. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Martinez 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 Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, which consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office, the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 11-4143.