A man who possessed a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison.
Michael Ray Teel, age 38, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 16, 2021, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence during the case showed that Teel arranged for another individual to purchase a firearm for him. Teel then possessed the firearm for several months until his state probation officer located the firearm during a home visit. Teel had previously been convicted of felony assault on a police officer.
Teel was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Teel was sentenced to 37 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.
Teel 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 Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-42.
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