A man who was found in possession of a homemade large-caliber pistol in the Meskwaki Casino in 2022 was sentenced on Feb. 22 to five years in federal prison.

Som Boun Cam, age 56, from Council Bluffs received the prison term after a Sept. 18, 2023 guilty plea to possessing a smooth bore, .410 gauge pistol, which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

In a plea agreement, Cam admitted that on April 14, 2022, he was in the Meskwaki Casino hotel when he was involved in a scuffle with another guest and misplaced his backpack. Hotel staff subsequently found the backpack, and when they looked in it on April 18, 2022, they found methamphetamine and a homemade smooth bore .410 gauge pistol.

On April 19, 2022, Cam returned to the hotel to claim his property. Cam admitted he had manufactured the firearm. This was a firearm that was required to be registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, but it was not registered to him. Cam has a 1995 felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and methamphetamine, a 2017 felony conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon, and multiple assault convictions.

Cam was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Cam was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Cam is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and investigated by the Meskwaki Nation Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.