Safe Streets Task Force focus on getting more guns off the streets

By Trish Mehaffey, The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Safe Streets Task Force's continued focus on gun crimes in the Cedar Rapids area has resulted in more federal convictions, and authorities believe it has reduced other violent crimes.

'I think individuals are coming to realize they will see significant jail time for firearm offenses,” FBI Special Agent Thomas Reinwart said. 'We've been making a difference since the task force was started in 2009. There has been an increase in prosecutions.”

Safe Streets, headed up by the FBI, is a coordinated effort between federal, state and local agencies to combat gun and drugs trafficking and other violent crimes such as assaults, homicides and robberies. A majority of the cases resulting in federal convictions involve firearm and drug offenses.

The task force was formed following an increase in violent crime in June 2009. The agencies include:

' the FBI

' Cedar Rapids Police Department

' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

' Linn County Sheriff's Office

' Marion Police Department

' U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency

' the 6th Judicial District Department of Corrections

The agencies share intelligence and resources.

By June 2012, the task force was involved in 42 arrests, helped solve nine Eastern Iowa bank robberies and assisted agencies in homicide, robbery and aggravated assault investigations, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office statistics.

In June 2013, with the focus on gun crimes, the task force's efforts resulted in 10 indictments and three convictions involving firearms offenses.

From July 2013 to last month, the task force opened 21 firearms cases which have resulted in 14 federal indictments, seven offenders sentenced and seven cases are pending, Reinwart said. The average sentence is six years in federal prison and the range of prison time for gun offenses is more than a year to 10 years possible.

The task force also has recovered, seized or taken by forfeiture 19 handguns, one rifle and three shotguns from July 2013 to August 2014. Reinwart said the weapons forfeited are usually destroyed, except in cases where a weapon is stolen, and then it's returned to the rightful owner.

'I think we have to give credit to the street officers, who are out there on a day-to-day basis working the investigations, and the department of corrections officers (involved with probation and paroles),” Reinwart said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney C.J. Williams said Wednesday firearm offenses have increased over the past few years and they remain a priority for the Northern District and the U.S. Department of Justice.

'Firearms are related to a host of crimes,” said Williams, who coordinates the firearm cases for the office.

The majority of the firearm offenses become federal cases, depending on the involvement of the firearm in other criminal activity, criminal history of offender and if the firearm is used in violence, Williams said.

"Prosecuting gun-law violators is a high priority for our office because those offenders are disproportionately a cause of violence within our district," U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau said Thursday. "We will continue to go after the worst of the worst - those who tote firearms and ammunition, despite prior felony convictions, as well as unlicensed dealers and straw purchasers."

First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said they rarely prosecute gun charges in state court because the federal prosecutors have stricter penalties. There might be a defendant with a more serious felony such as robbery or a homicide and a gun charge might be added, but it wouldn't be the main charge.

'They have more resources and with the federal sentencing guidelines, the judges have more discretion,” Maybanks said.

According to federal court documents, 23 individuals have been charged or indicted this year, so far, but not all may be Safe Street cases. It's difficult to attribute those because the Northern district doesn't track each offense.

There have been a large number coming through the courts in recent months, but some of them may have been pending since last year or the year before, so it complicates the tracking.

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission report in regards to firearm crimes:

' 64 offenders were sentenced in 2013, 58 plea agreements and 6 went to trial

' 42 sentenced in 2012, 39 pleas, 3 trials

' 74 sentenced in 2011, 72 pleas, 2 trials

' 50 sentenced in 2010, 49 pleas, 1 trial

Reinwart and Williams agreed that many times firearm offenses led them to other crimes, or another crime such as drugs or burglary also can lead back to gun crimes.

Williams recently prosecuted a firearms case that resulted in solving a murder and a life sentence for serial burglar Randy Patrie, 41, of Charles City. Police, while investigating a May 2013 burglary, recovered a .410 sawed off shotgun that connected Patrie to the homicide of Carl Kenneth Gallmeyer, 70, which occurred during a different burglary Sept. 25, 2012.

U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade said during sentencing there was overwhelming evidence showing Patrie used the sawed-off shotgun in connection with the burglary and Gallmeyer's death.

In many of the firearm cases, such as the Patrie case, defendants will end up with more prison time based on earlier criminal history.

Another of Williams's cases involves Donald Boman of Cedar Rapids, who was charged in state court for a shooting, but the case was dismissed so it could be prosecuted in federal court. He was convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in April.

According to a sentencing document, Williams is arguing that Boman, who has previous convictions, should be considered a career criminal. If the judge agrees, Boman could face 21-27 years in federal prison. Sentencing is set for Sept. 25.

In contrast to the Patrie and Boman cases, another firearm offender, Matthew Stover, actually benefitted from his sentencing, receiving five years of probation last month. Stover, 31, also of Cedar Rapids, was convicted of possessing an AR-15 assault weapon and ammunition as an unlawful drug user.

Marion Police officers found the weapons in his home after arresting him for buying marijuana in a park.

The judge sentenced him below the guideline range of three years in prison to probation with special conditions because she was reluctant to interfere with his mental health treatment that he was receiving from the Veterans Affairs.

Stover, who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, had been diagnosed as suffering from several mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, which predated and postdated his military service.