Cedar Rapids man sentenced to over 7 years for possessing gun after drug conviction

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man, already convicted of distributing heroin, has now been sentenced to over seven years for possessing a firearm while on supervised release in the drug crime.

A federal jury found Marcus Dejohn Wallace, 30, guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a felon in June and he was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to over seven years in prison.

Evidence at trial showed Wallace led officers on a high-speed chase Sept. 5, 2024 before being stopped in a residential neighborhood and running from officers. As he fled from officers on foot, he threw a loaded gun, which struck a nearby roof before landing in the grass.

Officers using a K-9 unit caught Wallace and found the loaded handgun, which was missing a magazine, according to trial testimony. Officers later found the missing magazine in the path where Wallace was fleeing police.

When Wallace was arrested for possessing a firearm, he was on supervised release for a previous federal conviction of distribution of heroin resulting in serious bodily injury.

U.S. District Chief Judge C.J. Williams was sentenced to 70 months, plus another 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release, for a total of 88 months.

Williams also ordered Wallace to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

The case was prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Devra Hake, Shawn Wehde and Dan Tvedt. It was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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