Grandmother Who Bought Firearms for Juvenile Grandson Gets Federal Probation

A northeast Iowa woman who purchased three firearms for her 14-year-old grandson has been sentenced to five years of probation.

 Information from a plea agreement and sentencing proceedings showed that 64-year-old Virginia Prescott of Waterloo bought three handguns from a licensed firearms dealer in Cedar Falls between March and August 2024.  Prescott lied on forms during these purchases, claiming that she was the actual buyer of the guns.  However, the guns were for her grandson, who was not old enough to purchase or possess firearms.  

All three guns were recovered by law enforcement officers in connection with criminal activity.  One gun was linked by ballistics testing to a shots-fired incident that occurred in Waterloo on August 3, 2024. 

On October 1, 2024, law enforcement agents searched Prescott’s home, when she reported that her grandson, who lived in the same household, had threatened to destroy her property and kill her dog if she did not buy a gun for him.  Prescott’s grandson was on state probation when she bought guns for him.     

 In July 2025, Prescott pleaded guilty to providing a false statement during purchase of a firearm.  Last week (02.04), she was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams to five years of federal probation.  

The case was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, with assistance from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.