Mason City Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of Ammunition

Luke Braniff, 26, from Mason City, Iowa, pled guilty on March 3, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to felon in possession of ammunition. Braniff was previously convicted of two counts of Lascivious Acts with a Child in 2017, and Sex Offender Registry Violations, in 2018, 2023, and 2025, all convictions were in Iowa. These convictions prohibit Braniff from possessing any firearms or ammunition.

At the plea hearing, Braniff admitted to possessing ammunition knowing he was prohibited from doing so due to his previous convictions. Law enforcement became aware of Braniff's illegal possession of ammunition during an investigation regarding reports of Braniff sending vulgar sexual messages on Snapchat to a minor female and requesting nude images of the child.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Braniff remains in custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Braniff faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Mason City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.plLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

The case file number is 25-3039. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.