Monticello Man Who Had Grandmother Buy Firearms for Him Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who possessed six firearms, three of which came from his grandmother, was sentenced on February 19, 2026, to one year in federal prison. Jonathan Michael Clark, age 32, from Monticello, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 3, 2025, guilty plea to one count of possession of firearms by a prohibited person.

Information from sentencing showed that Clark applied for a weapons permit in 2018, and a sheriff's office informed him that he was prohibited from possessing guns. In June 2024, while officers were in Clark's residence to arrest him on a warrant, an officer saw ammunition. Officers subsequently searched Clark's home and found six guns. The investigation showed that the source for at least three of the guns, two of which she purchased, was Clark's grandmother.

Clark was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Clark was sentenced to 12 months and one day's imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Clark was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office.

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 24-CR-2056.

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