Iowa Drug User Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of Firearms

On September 24, 2024, Richard Quintana, 24, from Dolliver, Iowa, was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm. Quintana pled guilty on May 23, 2024, to one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that Quintana illegally purchased and possessed firearms on five occasions between 2021 and 2022. Despite being a drug user, Quintana marked on his firearm purchasing forms that he was not. As a drug user, defendant was prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms. Three of the firearms Quintana purchased were later recovered by law enforcement as part of crimes committed by other individuals. In December 2023, law enforcement observed Quintana driving a vehicle in Fort Dodge, Iowa. As law enforcement attempted to stop the vehicle Quintana was driving, he led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit through residential areas of Fort Dodge before ultimately stopping and being arrested.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Quintana was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and must serve a two-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Quintana remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Fort Dodge, Iowa Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 23-3034. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

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