Iowa social worker was straw buyer for assault rifle

Angela Quinn, who was employed as a workforce consultant for Iowa Workforce Development, was charged along with her boyfriend, Steven Vivas of Davenport. Quinn is charged with making false statements in the purchase of a firearm, and Vivas is charged with possession of a felon. Both are also charged with participating in a straw purchase conspiracy, a federal felony.

Quinn’s attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment. Iowa Workforce Development did not respond to multiple messages asking about her current employment status. She had worked there since January 2019, according to a LinkedIn page on her behalf.

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According to court documents, Davenport police received reports on July 23 that Vivas was “waving a rifle” at various people. Officers spoke with Vivas’ ex-girlfriend, who had a protective order against him. They said she told them he had come to her house the night before and had come to visit her the next day at a hotel. She said Vivas had left the gun in the trunk of her car and claimed his current girlfriend, Quinn, had bought it for him. Police recovered what they described as an “AR-15-style rifle.”