Waterloo Shooter Pleads Guilty To Federal Gun, Drug Charges

A Waterloo man who shot another individual in October 2012 pled guilty today to drug and gun charges in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Amos Dee Deering, Sr., age 31, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and being unlawfully in possession of a firearm as a felon, domestic abuser, and drug user.

Evidence at an earlier hearing showed that in the early morning of October 19, 2012, Deering fought with another individual at a residence in the 400 block of Lane Street in Waterloo, Iowa. During the fight Deering shot the other individual in the upper torso. After fleeing the scene of the shooting, Deering drove to Singing Bird Lake park, but left the parkonly a few minutes later. Deering’s car was stopped and he was detained on suspicion of drunk driving. Officers returned to the park and, under a bush, found a discarded sock containing a pistol and some crack cocaine. Forensic tests later matched the firearm found inside the sock to a shell casing found at the scene of the shooting. Deering had previously been convicted of first degree burglary, felony eluding, and domestic abuse causing bodily injury.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Deering remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Deering faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, $1,500,000 in fines, $300 in special assessments, and up to a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated by the Waterloo Police Department.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 6:13-CR-02002-LRR.