A Nebraska man was sentenced to to nearly five-years in prison Wednesday, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The 57-month sentence for 34-year old Christopher Coleman, of Omaha, was handed down in US District Court in Council Bluffs, by United States District Court Senior Judge James E. Gritzner.  Coleman was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term.

On May 24th, Coleman plead guilty to the charge that was the result of an incident that took place December 14th, 2017, at Harrah’s Casino in Council Bluffs. On that date, Casino Security responded to an SUV that was stopped on a roadway on casino property. Agents approached the SUV and found it was occupied by two individuals, Coleman and a female juvenile. It was determined the juvenile had been reported as a runaway from Omaha, resulting in her being taken into protective custody. The juvenile advised law enforcement there was a handgun in the SUV and Coleman had hidden it before the officers arrived.

A routine criminal history check confirmed Coleman was prohibited from possessing a firearm based on a 2013 felony conviction. Law enforcement re-contacted Coleman and located a HiPoint 9 mm handgun in the SUV.

The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, Iowa State Patrol, Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.