Dubuque New Year’s Day Shooter Sentenced to Federal Prison
Shots He Fired Hit a Man, an Apartment, and a Car
A felon who, after an argument, shot wildly on a populated street, was sentenced today to over eight years in federal prison.
Derrick Damon Timmons, age 30, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 17, 2020 guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Evidence at sentencing showed that, during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2020, Timmons had a discussion with another person in Dubuque. Video evidence showed that Timmons left and then returned to the area, where another felon, Katwan Brown, handed Timmons a pistol. Brown and Timmons then went inside a residence for a brief time. When Brown and Timmons returned to the street, Timmons engaged in an animated argument with the other individual. Someone fired a round and people in the area scattered, with Timmons running back into the residence. After a few moments Timmons leaned back out of the doorway and shot wildly up the street multiple times, striking one individual. Another of the rounds Timmons fired struck an occupied apartment nearby, and yet another round struck an unoccupied vehicle. Timmons fled the area after the shooting.
At sentencing, the judge found that Timmons’s conduct was “reprehensible and incredibly dangerous.” Timmons had previously been convicted of felony obstruction of justice and a prior misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, domestic abuse assault with strangulation.
Timmons was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Timmons was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Brown was previously sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release.
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 was made possible in part by evidence from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles.
Timmons is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
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