Mason City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for 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 was sentenced October 11, 2024, to more than 8 years in federal prison.

Tirrell Harlan Hopkins, Jr., age 24, from Mason City, Iowa, received the prison term after a plea on May 3, 2024, to 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 hearing Hopkins admitted that on November 18, 2023, in Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, he knowingly possessed a firearm, a Springfield Armory, Model: Saint, Caliber: 2.33 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.

Hopkins was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Hopkins was sentenced to 98 months. He must also serve a 6-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.

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

The was 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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