Mason City man pleads guilty to federal illegal firearm possession charge

SIOUX CITY — A Mason City man has pleaded guilty to a federal illegal firearm possession charge.

The US Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa’s office says 28-year-old Brandon Mitchell pleaded guilty on Wednesday to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

During a plea hearing in Sioux City, Mitchell admitted to having two prior convictions for misdemeanor domestic violence and being an unlawful user of marijuana. Prosecutors say evidence further showed that on February 24th of last year, when Mitchell received a nine-millimeter pistol, he was under indictment for attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a domestic abuser.

Mitchell also admitted that during a search warrant at his residence that he discarded the pistol out of a bedroom window in an attempt to avoid being found in possession of the firearm.

Mitchell faces up to 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced at a later date.

Mitchell’s trial on attempted murder in Black Hawk County is scheduled to start on July 8th after a shooting in Cedar Falls in February 2022 left one man dead and two others injured.