Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 5 years for illegally possessing gun

Dec. 6, 2022 4:12 pm, Updated: Dec. 6, 2022 5:29 pm

Royal Jones (Linn County Jail)

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man was sentenced Tuesday to five years for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon after he was nabbed near a rental house on C Avenue NE that was under surveillance by police for several incidents of shots-fired that neighbors reported.

Royal Rio Jones, 19, pleaded guilty in September to possession of a firearm by a felon after his trial in August was declared a mistrial by a judge because one of the jurors didn’t disclose she knew Jones and wasn’t truthful about her previous convictions on a juror questionnaire.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover sentenced Jones to five years in prison.

Jones, who was on probation for robbery and gun convictions, was the first person arrested May 19 at the house, 1748 C Ave. NE, after neighbors told The Gazette they had been terrorized by the gunfire for months and in some cases bullets had come through their houses.

The rental house is owned by Charles Davisson, who operates as Property Holders. According to a criminal complaint, the house was under surveillance in May by the Police Community Action Team, which focuses on gun violence and problem offenders.

The address has been associated with several people known to carry guns, according to the complaint. One of them, Jones, was with two others leaving the house that day under “suspicious circumstances.” An officer approached Jones, who ran from the officer and refused to “obey lawful orders” during a foot pursuit, according to the criminal complaint.

The officer fell during the pursuit and then saw Jones make an “exaggerated gesture with his right hand on the front of his pants, “as if to reach for a firearm,” the criminal complaint stated. After Jones was caught minutes later, the officer retraced Jones’ path and found a firearm without a serial number, known as a “ghost gun.”

The juror, Nakia Long, was charged with perjury and third-degree fraudulent practices. She is accused of making false statements under oath during jury selection and on the questionnaire about being an associate of people connected to Jones.

When Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks made the court aware of Long’s connection to Jones on the second day of the trial, police told the court Long had been detained as part of the shots-fired investigation at 1748 C Ave. NE that involved Jones’ known associates. That incident happened about six months before Jones was arrested at the rental house May 19.