United States of America v. Douglas Hurt

Cedar Rapids, Iowa criminal lawyer represented Defendant charged with unlawful transport of firearms.



Douglas Hurt, age 42, of Anamosa, Iowa, was found guilty of possessing two firearms and ammunition after having been convicted of one felony and three misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. The evidence at trial showed that, in June 2020, in the cabin where he lived, Hurt possessed a Chinese Type 56 7.62 x 39 mm caliber rifle, a Remington 870 Express Magnum 12-gauge shotgun, and ammunition.



Hurt was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Hurt was sentenced to 33 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.



This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.



This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by Jones County Sheriff's Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.



18:922(g)(1), 922(g)(9) and 924(a)(2) UNLAWFUL TRANSPORT OF FIREARMS, ETC.

(1)



(2) It shall be unlawful for any common or contract carrier to deliver in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm without obtaining written acknowledgement of receipt from the recipient of the package or other container in which there is a firearm.



(g) It shall be unlawful for any person—



(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;



(2) who is a fugitive from justice;



(3) who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));



(4) who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution;



(5) who, being an alien—



(A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or



(B) except as provided in subsection (y)(2), has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26)));



(6) who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;



(7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship;



(8) who is subject to a court order that—



(A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate;



(B) restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; and



(C)(i) includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or



(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; or



(9) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,



to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.



(h) It shall be unlawful for any individual, who to that individual's knowledge and while being employed for any person described in any paragraph of subsection (g) of this section, in the course of such employment—



(1) to receive, possess, or transport any firearm or ammunition in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce; or



(2) to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.



(i) It shall be unlawful for any person to transport or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, any stolen firearm or stolen ammunition, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the firearm or ammunition was stolen.



(j) It shall be unlawful for any person to receive, possess, conceal, store, barter, sell, or dispose of any stolen firearm or stolen ammunition, or pledge or accept as security for a loan any stolen firearm or stolen ammunition, which is moving as, which is a part of, which constitutes, or which has been shipped or transported in, interstate or foreign commerce, either before or after it was stolen, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the firearm or ammunition was stolen.



(k) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to transport, ship, or receive, in interstate or foreign commerce, any firearm which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated, or altered or to possess or receive any firearm which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated, or altered and has, at any time, been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.



(l) Except as provided in section 925(d) of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to import or bring into the United States or any possession thereof any firearm or ammunition; and it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been imported or brought into the United States or any possession thereof in violation of the provisions of this chapter.



(m) It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector knowingly to make any false entry in, to fail to make appropriate entry in, or to fail to properly maintain, any record which he is required to keep pursuant to section 923 of this chapter or regulations promulgated thereunder.



(n) It shall be unlawful for any person who is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.



(o)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun.



(2) This subsection does not apply with respect to—



(A) a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or



(B) any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect.



(p)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm—



(A) that, after removal of grips, stocks, and magazines, is not as detectable as the Security Exemplar, by walk-through metal detectors calibrated and operated to detect the Security Exemplar; or



(B) any major component of which, when subjected to inspection by the types of x-ray machines commonly used at airports, does not generate an image that accurately depicts the shape of the component. Barium sulfate or other compounds may be used in the fabrication of the component.



(2) For purposes of this subsection—



(A) the term "firearm” does not include the frame or receiver of any such weapon;



(B) the term "major component” means, with respect to a firearm, the barrel, the slide or cylinder, or the frame or receiver of the firearm; and



(C) the term "Security Exemplar” means an object, to be fabricated at the direction of the Attorney General, that is—



(i) constructed of, during the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection, 3.7 ounces of material type 17–4 PH stainless steel in a shape resembling a handgun; and



(ii) suitable for testing and calibrating metal detectors:

Defendant was sentenced to 33 months' in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and assessed $100.00.