Cody Michael Adkins

Introduction

Cody Michael Adkins, 25, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison — more than two years — to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a felon. The sentence followed an April 1, 2026, guilty plea, and it rested on forensic evidence rather than a witnessed sale: after a March 2025 traffic stop in Cedar Rapids turned up a loaded gun under his car’s front passenger seat, Adkins’s thumbprint was found on the magazine inserted into the gun and his DNA on its slide. Chief U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams imposed the term.

Background Information

The stop that produced the case happened in March 2025, when Cedar Rapids officers pulled over a car Adkins was driving and learned his driver’s license was suspended. Officers smelled the odor of marijuana, searched the vehicle, and found a loaded gun under the front passenger seat. The forensic trail left on the weapon — Adkins’s thumbprint on the inserted magazine, his DNA on the slide — connected the felon to the firearm despite his flight from the first arrest attempt. As a previously convicted felon, Adkins was prohibited by federal law from possessing any firearm, making the loaded weapon itself the offense rather than evidence toward one. The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced. Adkins pleaded guilty on April 1, 2026, to possession of a firearm by a felon and was sentenced to 30 months. The facts below are from the Justice Department’s sentencing announcement.

The sequence ran from the March 2025 stop through a month on the run. When Cedar Rapids officers first attempted to arrest Adkins after the gun was found, he fled; officers located and arrested him approximately one month later. The plea came on April 1, 2026, almost a year after the stop, and admitted the possession charge outright. At sentencing, the court imposed 30 months’ imprisonment plus a three-year term of supervised release, and noted for the record that there is no parole in the federal system — the sentence is served in full. Adkins is being held in U.S. Marshals’ custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted as part of Operation Take Back America, the Justice Department’s nationwide initiative marshaling departmental resources against illegal immigration, cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime in communities. Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake prosecuted the case, with the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the FBI conducting the investigation. The court file number is 26-CR-1 in the Northern District of Iowa.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The stated consequence is the 30-month federal sentence and the forensic record that came with it: a thumbprint and a DNA profile entered into a federal case connecting a named felon to a loaded firearm recovered from his car. The announcement records no statement from Adkins or his counsel and no quotation from the investigating agencies, leaving the forensic evidence and the month-long flight from the first arrest attempt as the case’s public narrative. The sentence was imposed in Cedar Rapids by Chief Judge Williams, and the release notes the marshal’s custody hold pending prison transport.

Current Status

Adkins is serving a 30-month federal sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon, followed by three years of supervised release. He remains in U.S. Marshals’ custody pending transport to a federal facility, and the Justice Department announcement notes no appeal. At 25, he will be in his late twenties at release from prison, then spend three years under federal supervision. His guilty plea stands as the conviction of record, with the fingerprint and DNA evidence preserved in the court file under case number 26-CR-1.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A second felony — this one federal, for gun possession as a prohibited person — deepens the legal bind Adkins entered at 25: any future firearm offense now carries enhanced exposure as a repeat offender, and the conviction itself bars firearm possession for life, disqualifies most licensed work, and leaves him subject to supervised-release search and reporting conditions through roughly age 30. The record of his flight from the first arrest attempt and the month it took officers to locate him sits alongside the forensic evidence in the public court file. The announcement records no employment or family details.

Sources

• Justice Department sentencing announcement, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Iowa: source