Felon Who Shot at Occupied Vehicle Sentenced to More than Eight Years in Federal Prison

A man who shot at an occupied vehicle in an apartment complex parking lot was sentenced today to more than eight years in federal prison.

Eric James Lyle, age 34, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 31, 2021 guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At the guilty plea, Lyle admitted that on September 7, 2020, he possessed a Glock 42 .380 pistol, after previously being convicted of a felony offense.  An on-duty police officer parked near the Mead Apartment Complex observed the shooting and later recovered the firearm and six shell casings from the parking lot.  Surveillance video showed Lyle discharging the firearm multiple times towards a black SUV as the SUV left the parking lot. 

Lyle was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Lyle was sentenced to 105 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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.

Lyle is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force.  The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

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

The case file number is 21-CR-0001.

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