Cedar Rapids man sentenced to two years in federal prison for illegal possession of rifle

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Cedar Rapids man, previously convicted of theft in Indiana, was sentenced Tuesday to more than two years in federal prison for illegally possessing a rifle and 30 rounds of ammunition.

Nicodimus Coles, 21, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court to possession of a firearm by a felon. A plea agreement shows Coles purchased a Ruger AR-556 rifle from Gander Mountain in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 29, 2016. He provided false information on the gun form, saying he hadn't been convicted of a felony.

Coles was convicted of felony theft in Superior Court of Lake County, Ind., in 2015 and received three years probation, according to the plea agreement.

Court documents show that Coles went to a shooting range in Swisher after purchasing the rifle and was asked to leave the range by a DNR officer for practicing unsafe gun handling techniques. The rifle, along with a 30-round magazine was found in a bedroom closet when probation officers made a home visit on Nov. 3, 2016. Officers also recovered 29 rounds of Remington ammunition.

Coles admitted to purchasing the weapon and ammunition, and to lying on the firearms forms, according to the plea agreement.

U.S. District Senior Judge Linda Reade sentenced Coles to 27 months, which was the bottom of the advisory guideline range. She noted that Coles told officers he purchased the gun for protection but she warned Coles that because he is a felon he isn't allowed to have guns.

Reade also pointed out that he committed this offense while on probation for the Indiana conviction.

Coles, during the sentencing, said he accepts responsibility for breaking the law and it was 'nobody else's fault” but his. He hopes to get out of prison and 'be successful and make my family proud.”

Reade ordered the 27 months to run consecutively to any sentence he might receive for the probation violation in Indiana. Coles also will serve two years on supervised release and Reade granted the forfeiture requested by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Ruger rifle and ammunition.

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