A Muscatine man, Robert Owen Knapp, III, has been sentenced to 58 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. The sentencing follows an incident in May 2024 when Knapp, 33, fled on foot with a pistol after an attempted traffic stop. He was apprehended while holding the weapon.
At the time of the incident, Knapp was on federal supervised release stemming from a 2017 conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. After serving his prison term, Knapp will be required to complete four years of supervised release. Federal sentences do not allow for parole.
The court also revoked Knapp’s supervised release related to his previous conviction and imposed an additional nine-month sentence to be served consecutively with the new 58-month term.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the sentencing. The Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that coordinates law enforcement and community efforts to reduce violent crime and gun violence. In May 2021, PSN introduced a strategy focused on building trust within communities, supporting organizations that work to prevent violence, prioritizing strategic enforcement actions, and evaluating outcomes. More information about Project Safe Neighborhoods is available at https://www.justice.gov/psn.
