Earlville Man Sentenced to Nearly 10 Years in Prison for Using Drugs and Possessing Multiple Firearms

An Earlville man who assaulted his girlfriend and shot at her was sentenced today, August 9, 2024, to 97 months in prison.

Christopher Wuchter, age 38, from Earlville, received the prison term after a February 7, 2024, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

Information disclosed during the plea and sentencing hearing revealed that on January 9, 2023, Wuchter was arrested for domestic abuse following an incident that occurred at his residence. Officers later executed a search warrant at the residence and found drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine, multiple rounds of ammunition, and over 30 firearms. Two of the firearms were determined to be sawed-off shotguns. During their investigation, investigators learned that in August 2022, Wuchter and his girlfriend at the time had gotten into an argument. Wuchter assaulted his girlfriend's minor son causing a bloody nose. Wuchter then fired three shots from a second-story bedroom at his girlfriend as she was trying to leave the residence.

At the time of both incidents, Wuchter was a user of methamphetamine and marijuana. Wuchter has a criminal history, which includes 11 prior adult criminal convictions.

Wuchter was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Wuchter was sentenced to 97 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

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

The case file number is 23-CR-2024.

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