(Sioux City, Iowa) – A man who robbed the Country Store in Denison, Iowa, was sentenced Thursday (August 4, 2022), to 17 years in federal prison. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reports 24-year-old Nhial Biliew, from Denison, received the prison term after a guilty plea to one count of interference with commerce by robbery. Evidence in the case revealed on June 23, 2020, Biliew used a gun to rob the Country Store in Denison. Biliew had previously been convicted for (1) Interference with Official Acts; (2) Theft, in the 4th Degree; (3) Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; (4) Providing False Identification Information; and (5) Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree.

Biliew was sentenced in Sioux City U-S District Court to 204 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Biliew is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The case was investigated by Denison, Iowa Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Crawford County Sherriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.