Seven-Time Felon to Federal Prison for Stealing Guns in Northeast Iowa

 A man who stole over a dozen firearms from a house in northeast Iowa has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison.

 Information from the plea and sentencing hearings in the case showed that 29-year-old Justin Barnes of Rock Island, Illinois, was previously convicted of six felonies in Iowa state courts, including thefts, forgeries, and a gun offense.  In June 2024, Barnes was on parole and there was a warrant for his arrest.  

That month, he and his then-girlfriend, Jena Wells, stole 15 firearms from an unoccupied house in Waterloo, with Wells acting as a lookout while Barnes stole the guns, which they took to Wells’s home.  Barnes then tried to sell the guns.  

During a traffic stop on June 10, 2024, Waterloo Police located several of the stolen guns in Barnes’s backpack.  During a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Barnes repeatedly lied about how and where he acquired the guns. 

 On November 20, 2025, Barnes pleaded guilty to possession of firearms by a felon and possession of stolen firearms. Last Friday (05.01), he was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams to 96 months in federal prison.  Barnes must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

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

In March 2026, Wells was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for her role in the firearms crimes.

 The case was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, the FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; with assistance from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.