Hunter
09/22/22
An Iowa City man on Federal Supervised Release has been taken into custody after a search warrant allegedly turned up drugs and evidence of firearm use.
On September 8th, police were dispatched to assist with federal probation officers to conduct a home visit on 43-year-old James Franzier. He was observed driving a Dodge Challenger, was stopped, and ordered to return home for the visit. Franzier reportedly parked his vehicle at a residence that wasn’t his, then walked home to complete the visit.
Officers went back to the vehicle after the visit, reportedly saw drugs in plain view, and impounded the vehicle. A search warrant was obtained and executed on September 11th. Authorities allegedly located a large amount of cocaine and marijuana, as well as several shooting targets.
A warrant was also served at Franzier’s residence the same day, where he lives with his girlfriend. The girlfriend’s cellphone was seized and a check of the contents of the phone allegedly located a video showing Franzier shooting a firearm at the same shooting targets found in his vehicle. There were also reportedly text messages Franzier sent to the girlfriend asking to go to the gun range.
As a convicted felon, Franzier is prohibited form possessing or using firearms.
An arrest warrant was obtained, and Franzier was taken into custody Monday afternoon. He faces charges of being a felon in possession or dominion of a firearm, two tax stamp violations, a Class C controlled substance violation, and a Class D controlled substance violation. If convicted on all counts, Franzier could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.