Seven face federal gun charges

On Friday, police filed criminal complaints in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids seeking federal charges against Dameon Dariyus Harris, 23, of Waterloo, in connection with an April 7 gunfire incident; and against Marcus Robert Sykes, 19, of Waterloo, and Christine Tiara Williams, 28, of Cedar Falls in connection with gun found in an April 8 traffic stop.

Also charged were Dreyan Rashad Anderson, 18, of Waterloo, for a gun found during an April 7 traffic stop; Shane Paul Sliekers, 29, of Waterloo, for a Sig Sauer pistol found in August following a gunfire incident; Tyrone Parrow Jr., 25, of Waterloo, for a 9 mm Makarov handgun found in an April 7 stop; and Marshondus Trenedale Brown, 23, for a fight on Broadway Street on April 17 in which shots were fired.

The charges were unsealed Tuesday as Sykes, Williams, Sliekers, Harris and Anderson were arrested by Waterloo police. Brown and Parrow have been in the Black Hawk County Jail since April when they were arrested on state charges.

The charges are a joint effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, the Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which targets gun violence.

• In Harris’s case -- one of three incidents of gunfire in Waterloo on April 7 -- witnesses allege shots were fired on Park View Boulevard as “an ongoing dispute over relationships” involving old girlfriends and new boyfriends came to a head, court records state.

Someone threatened to shoot Harris’ female friend, and all four tires on her car were slashed while it was parked on Park View, court records state.

According to witnesses, Harris was inspecting the slashed tires April 7 when someone in a passing car began shooting at him, and he returned fire, court records state. Police found spent .40-caliber and .22-caliber casings at the scene, and investigators found a .22-caliber Mossberg AR-15 pistol buried in a laundry basket inside a nearby apartment belonging to the female friend.

A cellphone found at the scene contained photos of Harris holding the Mossberg as well as a photo of another firearm, records state. Harris is allegedly barred from handling firearms because of a 2013 conviction for unlawful use of a weapon.

• In Anderson’s case, police said in court records they had been looking for a Kia Optima in connection with other suspects in shootings on Elm Street and West Second and Western streets April 7. Officers pulled over a Kia that night in which Anderson was a passenger. Anderson allegedly pulled away from police, and authorities found a loaded .32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver in his waistband, court records state.

Court records state Anderson’s fingerprint was found on the gun’s cylinder, and his urine tested positive for marijuana.

• In Skyes' and Williams’ cases, court records allege Waterloo officers became suspicious of Williams’ car because of a March 27 shooting on Jefferson Street that injured one person. Officers followed the vehicle on the evening of April 8 and watched it as it parked at a La Porte Road gas station. When they approached the occupants, police found a loaded SCCY CPX 9 mm pistol in the center console.

During the investigation, police determined Williams had purchased the handgun in Evansdale on April 6. She told police she gave the weapon to Sykes for protection April 7, and he returned it to her just before the stop, court records state. Investigators said Williams also allowed Sykes to fire two other guns she owned at a range on an earlier occasion, record state.

Sykes -- who is prohibited from handling weapons because of a 2013 conviction for trafficking stolen weapons -- allegedly admitted to handling the gun, but he said it wasn’t his. During his police interview, he allegedly told investigators if the weapon was his, he would have shot officers through the car window because he would rather die than spend the rest of his life in prison, records state.

Records state both Sykes and Williams tested positive for marijuana, and Sykes’s test also indicated amphetamine use.