A Waterloo, Iowa man has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm while awaiting sentencing on an earlier federal firearms charge. Edward Earl Roby, Jr., 28, received his sentence on September 26, 2025, following his guilty plea on May 13, 2025, to possession of a firearm by a felon.
In July 2021, Waterloo police found a gun in Roby’s car during a traffic stop. He later pleaded guilty in December 2021 in federal court in Cedar Rapids to being a felon in possession of a firearm related to that incident and was released pending sentencing.
While awaiting sentencing in February 2022, Roby was found by law enforcement officers in a car reported as being involved in a shots fired incident. Early on February 6, officers responded to reports of gunfire from a red car. The vehicle fled when officers attempted to stop it but was stopped after a short chase. Roby was one of three people inside the car.
Police retraced the chase route and found a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun inside a Crown Royal bag atop a snowbank along the path. Six shell casings were also recovered near the shooting scene. DNA testing later showed Roby’s DNA on the slide and grip of the handgun.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Roby to 57 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Roby had previously been sentenced in July 2022 to 41 months’ imprisonment for the July 2021 firearms case. He remains in United States Marshal’s custody pending transport to federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a Federal Task Force including the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, with assistance from Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), this case is part of efforts aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through coordinated law enforcement and community engagement initiatives launched nationwide since May 2021.
