Meskwaki Casino Visitor with Homemade Firearm Sentenced to Prison

A 56-year-old Council Bluffs, Iowa resident who visited a casino while carrying a homemade large-caliber pistol and drugs was sentenced recently. Confirmation about the sentence came from the US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Iowa. The criminal case was investigated by the Meskwaki Nation Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Patrick J. Reinert.

The case involved Som Boun Cam, a resident of Council Bluffs who had a couple of felony convictions dating as far back as 1995. The man who visited Meskwaki Casino in April 2022 was arrested after drugs along with an unregistered homemade firearm were found in his backpack. On September 18, 2023, Cam pleaded guilty to possession of one smooth bore, .410-gauge pistol. The homemade large caliber pistol was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Recently, US District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Cam to a total of five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Considering the sentence to federal prison, there’s no parole applicable. While Cam is currently under the custody of the US Marshals, he will be transported to serve his sentence in federal prison.

The Firearm Was Found in a Backpack

The incident that resulted in Cam’s prison sentence dates back to April 14, 2022. At the time, the man was involved in a scuffle with another guest at the Meskwaki Casino hotel. In the brawl, Cam lost his backpack which was subsequently found by hotel staff on April 18, 2022. When the employees looked into the backpack, they found a homemade smooth bore .410-gauge pistol along with methamphetamine.

Strangely enough, despite knowing what was in the backpack, Cam returned on April 19, 2022, and asked for it. Subsequently, he admitted to manufacturing the firearm at home. Homemade or not, the gun had to be registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record but that was never done by Cam.

An online discussion on a smooth bore .410 pistol on Reddit describes the firearm as a “super duper deadly murder machine.” Compared to a .45 ACP round, the .410 ammo is twice the length. Although it is approximately as long as a 20 gauge or a 12 gauge, the .410 shell is half of the width and is known as the smallest caliber for shotguns.

While usually .410 rifles can be used for pest control or small game hunting, such rounds have lethal force against people. Considering that the 56-year-old was detained with a homemade rifle, it is likely that it was a single shot gun. Still, this doesn’t mean that the firearm did not have sufficient power to kill a person.