Waterloo Felon Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Federal Prison
WATERLOO — A Waterloo man with a prior federal firearms conviction has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison after again being found in possession of a gun and resisting law enforcement.
Orrington Alexander Gardner, 41, was sentenced on Feb. 2 to 100 months in federal prison after pleading guilty on July 17, 2025, to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Court records show Gardner was previously convicted of the same offense in the Northern District of Iowa in 2009 and received the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years. He was released from federal prison in late June 2022.
Less than three months later, on Sept. 14, 2022, Waterloo police received information that Gardner was armed. Officers followed Gardner from his residence and conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in which he was a passenger. Police said Gardner refused repeated commands to exit the vehicle and resisted officers as they attempted to remove him.
During the struggle, Gardner reached toward his waistband, where officers found a loaded firearm. Officers were able to secure the weapon and take Gardner into custody. No injuries were reported.
Gardner was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by U.S. District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. In addition to his prison sentence, Gardner will serve three years of supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
Gardner remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transferred to a federal correctional facility.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through coordinated law enforcement efforts and community partnerships.
The case was investigated by a federal task force including the Waterloo Police Department, FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyndra Lundquist.
