Drug User and Felon Sentenced to Over Three Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms

A Sioux City man who illegally possessed firearms, was sentenced May 13, 2021, to more than three years in federal prison.

Yoni Duenas, 23, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 21, 2020, guilty plea to two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and a drug user.

Evidence presented by the United States at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed Duenas unlawfully possessed two firearms on two separate occasions.  Counting Duenas’ past criminal history and his instant conduct, he has been disarmed by law enforcement four times.

Duenas was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Duenas was sentenced to 40 months’ and five days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two-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.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.

The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from Project Guardian partners. For more information about Project Guardian, please see https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1217186/download.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Justice – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sioux City Police Department.  The case was 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 20-4031.