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Cedar Rapids man convicted in fatal shooting as teen pleads in federal court for firearms
Marshawn Jeffries faces up to 15 years in federal prison
Aug. 5, 2025 1:24 pm, Updated: Aug. 5, 2025 4:02 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man, who was convicted as a teen in the 2020 fatal shooting of a University of Iowa student, faces another prison sentence but this time in federal court.
Marshawn L. Jeffries, now 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He was indicted in May for possessing a Taurus G2C 9 mm pistol on Feb. 28 in Cedar Rapids, after being convicted of intimidation with a dangerous weapon in 2022.
Jeffries initially was charged in Linn County District Court with trafficking stolen weapons and possession of a firearm by a felon, both Class D felonies, in the Feb. 28 incident. First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter dismissed the charges when Jeffries was indicted in federal court.
According to the Linn County criminal complaint, Jeffries was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by Cedar Rapids police on Interstate 380, between the Sixth Street and H Avenue exits. Officers smelled marijuana in the vehicle and during a search found a Taurus G2C pistol on Jeffries that had been reported as stolen.
During Tuesday’s plea hearing, Jeffries admitted to knowingly possessing the 9 mm handgun. He also acknowledged that he was prohibited from having firearms because of his previous conviction.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Roberts accepted his plea and informed him he faces up to 15 years in federal prison. His sentence could be less, depending on criminal history and other factors, based on the federal sentencing guidelines.
Jeffries also faces up to three years of supervised release following his prison term. Sentencing will be set after a presentencing report is completed.
Previous conviction
Jeffries, who was 16 at the time of the 2020 shooting, pleaded guilty in that case to threatening to shoot into a group of people at a party on June 18, 2020, during a fight involving Malik Sheets, 20, of Cedar Rapids. Sheets was fatally shot by Jeffries’ friend, Christian Emedi, then 17.
Jeffries and Emedi both pleaded to lesser charges and received reduced sentences because of their age.
Jeffries, who also was convicted of obstruction, was sentenced to two years as time served on that charge and five years in prison on the gun charge.
According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, Jeffries served about a year in prison before the Iowa Board of Parole put him on work release Nov. 7, 2023, and he was released on parole April 2, 2024.
Jeffries also faces other state court charges in an eluding incident that happened Feb. 2, before the firearm arrest. He fled from officers attempting to conduct a traffic stop for speeding on 29th Street and Wildwood Court NE.
According to a criminal complaint, Jeffries led an officer on a pursuit until Jeffries crashed his vehicle into a building at 340 29th St. Dr. SE, where he got out and ran on foot until other officers arrested him in a stairwell at 224 29th St. Dr. SE.
Officers found marijuana and a scale to weigh the drugs in his possession, the complaint stated. Those charges will go forward after his federal case.
Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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