cedar rapids man arrested on gun charge
Contact: Peter Deegan
Robert Carter, 33, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was arrested Saturday and appeared in federal court today on a charge of being a marijuana user in possession of a gun. The charge is contained in an Indictment filed on November 3, 2009, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, on or about August 16, 2008, Carter knowingly possessed a loaded 9mm pistol when he was an unlawful user of marijuana
Under federal law, an illegal drug user may not possess a firearm or ammunition. There is no such prohibition under Iowa law.
If convicted, Carter faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Carter appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Carter’s trial is set for May 17, 2010.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bob Teig as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state, and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 09-80.
