Dubuque Felon Who Possessed Multiple Guns Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison

A man who possessed multiple firearms as a felon in the summer of 2024 was sentenced today to 8 years in federal prison.

Bailey Michael Valentine, age 26, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 27, 2026, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that in May 2024, law enforcement officers pulled over a car in which Valentine was the passenger. Officers found Valentine's backpack in the car. It contained methamphetamine. Later that day, officers searched his house and found a stolen and loaded gun. Valentine continued to possess a firearm on multiple occasions after that. In July 2024, officers pulled over another car that Valentine was driving. Inside the car, officers found a loaded gun that belonged to Valentine, as well as ammunition that he had stolen earlier in the day. Valentine has an extensive criminal history, including two drug-related felony convictions from 2021.

Valentine was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Valentine was sentenced to 96 months' imprisonment and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives and the Dubuque Drug Task Force.

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-1031.

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