Felon Who Fled from Crime Scene Sent to Federal Prison on Gun Charge

A felon who discarded a gun while fleeing from police was sentenced on October 1, 2014 to over six years in federal prison.

Harris Ceaser III, from St. Louis, Missouri, received the prison term after a June 5, 2014 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm as a felon.

In a plea agreement, Ceaser admitted he possessed a loaded 9mm handgun in Cedar Rapids on March 24, 2014. According to a criminal complaint, Ceaser came to the attention of law enforcement on that date while they were responding to a report of a stabbing at the 1800 block of A Avenue. The victim was located on the ground with a knife mark in his chest. While canvassing the area for evidence, a woman reported to law enforcement that an individual—later identified as Ceaser—had run from the scene. An officer located Ceaser nearby. Upon seeing the officers, Ceaser fled on foot. The foot chase was captured on a patrol car video, which showed Ceaser throwing a handgun over a fence during the chase. The handgun was then recovered by law enforcement. The handgun had been reported stolen.

Ceaser had been convicted in federal court in Cedar Rapids in 2008 of the felony offense of possessing a firearm as an unlawful drug user. Ceaser remained on supervised release from this conviction at the time of the March 2014 incident.

Ceaser was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Ceaser was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment, which was ordered to run consecutive to a 24-month supervised release revocation sentence that was imposed on April 25, 2014 in the 2008 case. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Ceaser is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

Ceaser has not been charged in connection with the stabbing.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/ cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-CR-50. The case file for the criminal complaint is 14-MJ-94. The case file for Ceaser’s 2008 conviction is 07-CR-96.