Mason City Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance

A man who possessed a firearm as a prohibited person and possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute pled guilty May 3, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City.

Tirrell Harlan Hopkins, Jr., age 23, from Mason City, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.­

At the plea taking hearing, Hopkins admitted that on or about November 18, 2023, in Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, he knowingly possessed a firearm, a Springfield Armory, Model: Saint, Caliber: 5.56 NATO, Type: Pistol.  At the time, Hopkins possessed the gun, he knew he was a user of illegal drugs, had been convicted of a felony, and convicted of a crime of domestic violence, all of which prohibited him from legally possessing a gun.

Hopkins also admitted that on or about November 18, 2023, in the Northern District of Iowa, he was in possession of methamphetamine, and intended to distribute some or all of the methamphetamine to another person.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Hopkins remains in custody of the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Hopkins faces a potential of a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, and 6 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

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.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and was investigated by the Mason City Police Department, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Cerro Gordo County Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations Laboratory, and the United States Marshal’s Service.

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

The case file number is 24-CR-03008.

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