Jury Finds Sioux City Man Guilty of Kidnapping and Possessing Ammunition as a Felon and Drug User

A recidivist felon was convicted by a jury on April 26, 2024, after a 5-day trial in federal court in Sioux City.

Bobby Rhoden, age 49, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of one count of kidnapping and one count of possession of ammunition by a felon and drug user.

Evidence at trial showed that Rhoden used threats to get his victim, a former girlfriend, into his car to help him recover a phone she had taken.  Over the next 36 hours, he brutalized her, and drove her to at least two locations in an effort to find his phone. The victim escaped Rhoden by running away from him to a neighbor’s house. As she ran, Rhoden fired his gun at or near her.  A subsequent investigation of the kidnapping revealed live ammunition and a spent casing in the garage where Rhoden lived, and one of the locations where he held his victim.

Rhoden was previously convicted of two counts of forgery in Scott County, Iowa, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in Scott County, Iowa and conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Rhoden remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Rhoden faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department, ATF and is prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-04073.

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