Sioux City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

Press Release

Cobbs was prohibited from legally possessing guns due to his use of illegal drugs.

A man who admitted to using and selling drugs while in possession of a firearm, was sentenced May 3, 2024, to more than 2 years in federal prison.

Devonta Cobbs, age 23, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 19, 2024, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

Evidence in the case revealed that from about May 2022 through June 2022, Cobbs, while being an admitted user of marijuana, possessed multiple firearms. During an investigation into a shooting incident, while executing search warrants on Cobbs' property, officers located several guns, ammunition, magazines as well as more than $2,000 in cash and marijuana.

Cobbs was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced to 34 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a 2-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.

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

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

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

The case file number is 22-4069.

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Updated May 8, 2024