Cedar Rapids man to serve 5 years in federal prison for pawning shotgun

CEDAR RAPIDS - A 43-year-old Cedar Rapids man who pawned a shotgun was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to more than five years in federal prison.

Rusty Lynn Bowles pleaded guilty in last October to being a felon and domestic abuser in possession of a firearm.

At the guilty plea, Bowles admitted he pawned the shotgun and admitted he knew he could not possess it because of his criminal history. He has an Iowa conviction for misdemeanor domestic abuse and felony convictions for second-degree forgery and second-degree burglary, in Colorado.

The court based the sentence, in part, on a significant criminal history of assaults, burglary, attempted rape and sexual abuse of children, according to court information. The judge found the defendant had a high rate of recidivism based on his repeated criminal offenses starting as a teenager, and continuing to as recently as January.

Bowles also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.