Source: Office of United States Attorneys
A man with a history of violence was sentenced today, to 10 years in federal prison.
Conrad Lyons, age 36, from Sioux City, received the prison term after an August 26, 2024, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of receipt and possession of a National Firearms Destructive Device not registered to the possessor, i.e., a sawed-off shotgun.
Evidence in this case revealed that on March 23, 2024, at approximately 1:00 a.m., law enforcement received a report of an altercation in an apartment in Sioux City, Iowa, involving Lyons (who is a felon) and several other individuals. Reports indicated the altercation involved a large machete-style knife, and that Lyons had a “sawed-off shotgun”. Law enforcement responded to the apartment in Sioux City where the altercation took place. Outside of the apartment, law enforcement encountered an individual, who confirmed there had been an altercation, and identified some of the individuals, but the individuals inside the apartment were reluctant to cooperate.
Further, on March 23, 2024, at approximately 8:22 p.m., law enforcement observed Lyons and two other individuals, walking in Sioux City, Iowa. As law enforcement approached, Lyons dropped a black backpack and walked into the street. The other individual attempted to throw a machete into a storm drain. The individuals were stopped by police. The machete was retrieved, and through the open zipper of the backpack, law enforcement observed a barrel and what appeared to be a cut-off gunstock that was covered with a sock. It was later determined Lyons was in possession of the sawed-off shotgun.
Lyons has a history of violent offenses, failure on supervision, disciplinary violations in custody and a history of eluding, resisting and fighting with law enforcement. Lyons criminal history includes (1) assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer, in the United States District Court of Nebraska; (2) assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian Country, in the United States District Court of Nebraska; and (3) assault by striking, beating, and wounding, in the United States District Court of Nebraska.
Lyons was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-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.
Lyons is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and was 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 24-CR-4026.
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