(Sioux City)– A Spencer man has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. 35-year-old Joe Ripka was sentenced in federal court Friday.
Ripka had previously been convicted of failure to affix a drug tax stamp in Emmet County District Court on October 23rd, 2017 which prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Evidence at plea and sentencing hearings showed on December 22nd, 2021, law enforcement pulled over a vehicle Ripka was driving in Larrabee, Iowa for driving without license plates. During the stop, Ripka showed signs of impairment. A K-9 was deployed on the vehicle indicating the presence of controlled substances. Ripka admitted there was a firearm in the vehicle and that he was a felon. Law enforcement found a handgun in the driver’s side door. Later inspection of the vehicle by law enforcement turned up a pack of cigarettes wedged between the seats containing one gram of methamphetamine.
