CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — After a four-day trial in Cedar Rapids, a federal jury convicted two Iowa men Thursday, Nov. 18 of robbing Waterloo residents at gunpoint back in 2020.
Antoine Maxwell, 33, of Mason City and Chavee Harden, 32, of Waterloo on Nov. 4, 2020, worked together to rob two Waterloo residents of marijuana products, money and cellphones, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Maxwell had held a gun to a victim's head during the robbery, and police found the stolen items in Harden's home and Maxwell's car.
Harden and Maxwell, according to the release, were both convicted of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. Maxwell faced additional convictions of one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a violent crime.
Harden faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years of supervised release after imprisonment.
Maxwell faces 35 years to a possible life sentence in prison, $750,000 in fines and 11 years of supervised release after imprisonment.
The case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Launched in 2001, the program is, according to the justice department, a nationwide initiative to incorporate research and lessons learned from other violent crime reduction initiatives to inform decision-making on how to most effectively reduce violent crime in communities across the U.S. Its overall goal is to preventatively reduce crime and not increase the number of arrests.
