CEDAR RAPIDS — A Kenyan national is accused of illegally having a rifle that witnesses said he was using to threaten passers-by on Saturday.
Kevin O. Naholi, 40, was charged Monday in U.S. District Court with possession of a firearm by an undocumented immigrant. Witnesses told Cedar Rapids police that Naholi was outside his house, 1607 11th Ave. SW, holding a long gun and threatening people.
Naholi was held Monday without bond pending grand jury indictment.
An criminal complaint affidavit shows that before officers arrived about 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Naholi went back inside his house and refused to come out. His wife came out to talk with police and his son came to the house and told officers his father had firearms, which the son said he thought might lead to a problem. Naholi’s wife and son couldn’t coax him out of the house and police wouldn’t let them go inside for their own protection, the complaint states.
Authorities negotiated with Naholi over 11 hours until about 4:30 a.m. Sunday when a Cedar Rapids police special response unit entered the home and removed Naholi, the affidavit shows. Officers then conducted a search of the house, which Naholi’s wife approved because she owns it, and they found a .22 caliber Winchester rifle.
Naholi lawfully entered the United States in 2003 under a student visa but it was terminated in 2004 after he failed to enroll in school, court documents show. He was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and placed in removal proceedings. Those proceedings were terminated in 2016 after Naholi made plans to pursue becoming a naturalized citizen. His request, however, was denied in June.
If convicted, Naholi faces up to 10 years in prison.
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