Man who threatened to kill estranged wife sentenced to 10 years on federal firearms convictions
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who threatened to kill his estranged wife and then drove toward her residence with loaded firearms in his car was sentenced on May 11, 2010, to 10 years in federal prison.
Robert Anthony Neuzil, 62, from Ft. Atkinson, Iowa, received the prison term after September 24, 2009, guilty pleas to two counts of possessing a short-barreled rifle and one count of possessing a smooth bore pistol.
Neuzil admitted that, on April 9, 2009, Winneshiek County deputies arrested him after they responded to a call from his estranged wife. Neuzil’s estranged wife reported Neuzil had threatened to kill her and her family and was on his way to her home in Minnesota. Deputies located Neuzil driving north toward Minnesota. When officers stopped Neuzil, he was carrying a loaded handgun and two knives. He also had two rifles, at least one of which was loaded, in the front of the car, ammunition, and another rifle in the trunk. Neuzil admitted he was on the way to his estranged wife’s home in Minnesota and that he had threatened to kill her. A search of Neuzil’s home uncovered the short-barreled rifles, the smooth bore pistol, over 25 firearms, and pipe bombs.
“Cases involving violence against women are very serious. This was one of those cases,” said United States Attorney Stephanie M. Rose. “The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office’s immediate response prevented a potentially deadly outcome, and the continuing close coordination among local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies resulted in this successful prosecution.”
Neuzil was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Neuzil was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and fined $5,000. A special assessment of $300 was imposed. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Neuzil is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger and was investigated by the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office, Decorah Police Department, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 09-2020.
