COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Council Bluffs man, 34-year-old Andre Alexander Shupe, was sentenced November 3, 2022 in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to serve about 7 1/2 years (92 months) in prison, following his pleas of guilty to charges of Possession and Sale of a Stolen Firearm and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. After he is released from prison, Shupe will serve three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution for the stolen firearms and other items.

On November 6, 2021, at approximately 2 am, four firearms and hunting gear were stolen from a truck parked at Harrah’s casino in Council Bluffs. Casino surveillance located footage of a female who burglarized the truck and stole the firearms and hunting gear. Law enforcement received information that Shupe was romantically involved with the female who stole the firearms, and that Shupe was trying to sell or trade the stolen firearms. A home in Omaha, Nebraska was searched and one of the stolen firearms was recovered. The other three firearms were not recovered. Shupe had a previous felony conviction that prevented him from possessing any firearm and was also prohibited from possessing firearms because he was a drug user.

The Bellevue Police Department, the Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. 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. In May 2021, the Department of Justice 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.