Waterloo Man Receives 46-Month Prison Sentence

A Waterloo man will be spending more than three years in a federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm.

On Thursday, 22-year-old Karon Bennett was sentenced to serve 46 months by a judge in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids. According to a court records, Bennett received the prison term after pleading guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon on March 4.

Bennett will serve the entire 46-month sentence because there is no parole in the federal system. Bennett will also be on supervised release for the next three years after his prison term ends.

Court records show Bennett was on parole for prior felonies last year when authorities discovered he was possessing a gun. According to the documents, Bennett was apprehended by law enforcement on Nov. 21, 2020, shortly after a 9-1-1 caller reported that he was attempting to break into a garage in Waterloo.

Information disclosed at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Bennett was in possession of a Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol at the time of his arrest. He had previously been convicted of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, second-degree burglary and unauthorized possession of an offensive weapon.

The case against Bennett was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melissa A. Carrington and investigated by Waterloo police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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