Mason City Man Gets Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing Ammunition

A North Iowa man has been sentenced to almost a decade in federal prison for illegally possessing ammunition as a previously convicted felon.

At his plea hearing in March, 26-year-old Luke Braniff of Mason City admitted to possessing ammunition knowing he was prohibited from doing so due to his previous convictions.  Mason City Police became aware of Braniff’s illegal possession of ammunition during an investigation regarding reports that Braniff sent vulgar sexual messages on Snapchat to a minor female and requested nude images of the child.

Braniff was previously convicted of two counts of lascivious acts with a child in 2017, and sex offender registry violations, in 2018, 2023, and 2025.

 On Friday (07.10), United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Braniff to nine years in federal prison, plus serve a three-year term of supervised release after prison.  There is no parole in the federal system.  

Braniff is being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.

 The case was investigated by the Mason City Police Department.