Felon Who Illegally Possessed Gun Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who unlawfully possessed a gun was sentenced on April 24, 2026, to five years in federal prison.

Nicholas John Baker, age 35, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 25, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Baker was previously convicted of conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance (methamphetamine), in the Iowa District Court for Jackson County in 2014.

On July 31, 2025, Baker possessed a gun during a domestic dispute. Later that same day, officers searched Baker's home and they found a stolen gun in the attic. The gun was equipped with a 32-round magazine. At the guilty plea, Baker admitted he knowingly possessed the firearm.

Baker was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Baker was sentenced to 60 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Baker is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

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-CR-1044.

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