Iowa Felon to Serve 57 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing Loaded Handguns after Traffic Stop in McLean County

PEORIA, Ill. – Terrail Draper Lavar Dixon, 35, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been sentenced to 57 months (4 years, 9 months) in federal prison for illegal possession of firearms by a felon during a traffic stop by Illinois State Police in McLean County. At the hearing, on June 21, U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade also ordered that Dixon remain on supervised release for three years following his release from prison.

Dixon pled guilty on Feb. 6, 2017. According to court documents, shortly after midnight on Nov. 22, 2016, an Illinois State Police trooper observed Dixon’s vehicle speeding and driving erratically on I-55 in McLean County. When the vehicle stopped, Dixon got out of the car and shouted, “arrest me, go ahead and arrest me.” When the trooper asked why, Dixon responded, “because I have guns in the car, man.” In the subsequent search of the vehicle, officers recovered a loaded Glock 17, .9 mm caliber semi-automatic handgun and a loaded Smith & Wesson MP40, .40 caliber handgun under the driver’s seat. At the time he possessed the guns, Dixon had prior felony convictions in Illinois and Indiana. Dixon has remained in the custody of law enforcement since his arrest.

At the sentencing hearing, the government submitted for exhibit, a transcript of the exchange between Dixon and the officer during the traffic stop. According to the transcript, Dixon admitted to the officer that the guns were “security,” and that Dixon thought about shooting the officer twice, “when I saw the lights. I was hoping you was just going to fly up and pass me.”

The charges were investigated by the Illinois State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted in the Peoria Division by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Hanna.