Monticello Man Who Had Grandmother Purchase Firearms For Him Sentenced to Federal Prison

A Monticello man who possessed six firearms – three of which came from his grandmother – has been sentenced to one year in federal prison. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 32-year old Jonathan Michael Clark received the prison term last Thursday after pleading guilty in September to one count of possession of firearms by a prohibited person.

Information from sentencing showed that Clark applied for a weapons permit in 2018, and the Sheriff’s Office informed him that he was prohibited from possessing guns. In June 2024, while officers were in Clark’s home to arrest him on a warrant, an officer saw ammunition. Officers subsequently searched Clark’s home and found six guns. The investigation showed that the source for at least three of the guns, two of which she purchased, was Clark’s grandmother. 

Clark was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Clark was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after prison. There is no parole in the federal system. Clark was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. It was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.