Area Man Sent to Prison for Selling Gun to Brother-in-Law

A Clayton County man, previously convicted on felony drug charges, has been sentenced to prison for owning and selling a firearm.

42 year old James Kottman of Luana, had pleaded guilty in December, to the charge of Possession of a Firearm as a felon. Kottman admitted that he sold a gun to his brother-in-law in November of 2017. The buyer became worried that the gun had been stolen, and turned it into police.

Kottman had a previous conviction of possession of heroin with intent to deliver. While the state charges were still pending, Kottman broke federal law by trying to have the purchaser of the gun tell police that he bought the gun from someone else.

Kottman was sentenced in Federal Court in Cedar Rapids on Thursday (May 16), to 18 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. The case was investigated by the Clayton County Sheriff.