Issac Rayford, a 32-year-old resident of Sioux City, was sentenced on March 26 to four years in federal prison following his guilty plea on October 21, 2025, to charges of possessing a firearm as a felon, drug user, and domestic abuse misdemeanant.
The case centers around an incident that occurred on November 2, 2024. According to evidence presented in court, Rayford’s girlfriend found his loaded firearm placed on the toilet bowl while he was showering. Fearing what might happen if he retrieved the weapon, she hid it. When Rayford realized the gun was missing, he attacked her violently—throwing her to the ground and putting his weight on her face before picking her up and throwing her again. He also put his hands around her neck and broke her clavicle. As Rayford began searching elsewhere for the gun, she managed to escape their apartment and a neighbor called police. Before officers arrived at the scene, Rayford fled on foot.
Two days later on November 4, after seeing Rayford enter her home via security camera footage, his girlfriend contacted law enforcement again. Officers responded promptly and took him into custody without further incident.
Rayford has a criminal record that includes convictions for two serious assaults; domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury; disorderly conduct involving grabbing and choking a female; disorderly conduct where he endangered a baby and threatened others; interfering with official acts by fleeing from police; driving while barred or suspended; and failing to appear in court.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand handed down the sentence of forty-eight months’ imprisonment along with three years of supervised release after completion of his prison term. There is no parole available in the federal system.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration issues as well as eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
Rayford remains in United States Marshal’s custody pending transport to federal prison. The investigation involved both the Sioux City Police Department and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild prosecuted this case.
