SIOUX CITY, IA (Northwestiowanow) — A Buena Vista County man faces more than two years in federal prison for possessing an illegal firearm.

On Thursday, January 8, 29-year-old Taxavier Ford of Alta was sentenced in Sioux City federal court after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.Ford received 30 months behind bars and an additional three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, the case stems from a March 14 traffic stop in Storm Lake. Officers pulled Ford over for illegal window tint, smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, and found a loaded firearm tucked in his waistband.

Ford was prohibited from having a gun due to prior felony convictions, including possession of a narcotic drug in Indiana in 2017 and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and possession of a firearm by a felon in Iowa in 2021.

The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence, and also falls under Operation Take Back America, which targets organized crime and transnational criminal organizations.

Ford remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transferred to a federal prison. The investigation was conducted by the Storm Lake Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.