A Dubuque woman has been sentenced to over a year in federal prison for tampering with evidence after purchasing and hiding a gun used by her brother in a shooting incident. Delicia Lee, 36, from Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced on February 10, 2025, following her guilty plea on September 17, 2024.
Court records revealed that in March 2023, Lee bought a Walther CCP M2, 9mm firearm from a local business. Although she claimed the gun was for herself, it was intended for her brother Marvin Brantley, a convicted felon. In April 2023, Brantley fired the weapon during an altercation outside a bar in Dubuque but did not injure anyone. Afterward, he concealed the gun in his basement ceiling before being arrested on state charges related to the shooting.
While incarcerated, Brantley instructed Lee via phone calls on how to locate and dispose of the firearm. She transported it to Chicago and later admitted its location to investigators. At law enforcement's request, she surrendered the gun to police one week later.
Further investigations uncovered that between 2017 and 2020, Lee had purchased fifteen firearms in Indiana for individuals prohibited from buying them. Over half of these weapons were later involved in crimes such as homicide and robbery; some remain unrecovered.
Marvin Brantley faced charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the Northern District of Iowa and received a sentence of 145 months' imprisonment for his involvement in the shooting.
Chief United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Lee to sixteen months' imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release without parole eligibility under federal law.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The Department's strategy emphasizes trust-building within communities and supporting organizations that prevent violence.
Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery prosecuted the case with investigations conducted by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.