By ELIJAH DECIOUS

edecious@messengernews.net

Two Iowa men were sentenced to prison in federal court for firearms charges after one’s wife killed herself with a sawed-off shotgun while they were high, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

Duncombe man Christopher Anthony Craig, 27, was sentenced to seven months after pleading guilty to one count of receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm on Aug. 18. Following prison, he will be on supervised release for a year.

Ogden man Deacon Smith-Downs, 29, was sentenced to 3.5 years on May 18 after pleading guilty to one count of receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of possession of a firearm by a drug user. Following prison, he will be on supervised release for two years.

On Feb. 20 or Feb. 21 last year, the two men and Smith-Downs’ wife got high together and handled a sawed-off shotgun that they had acquired in previous months. On Feb. 21, Smith-Downs’ told 911 dispatchers that his wife killed herself with the gun.

Law enforcement arrived to find the deceased woman, the two men and the shotgun. Smith-Downs later said he was a methamphetamine and marijuana user, and that all three of them handled the weapon within 12 hours of the fatal shooting.

The case was investigated by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Boone County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Forde Fairchild.

The case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the U.S. attorney general in 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence, enhance coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes and improve information sharing when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).