Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to eleven years in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms. Kyler Goettsch, 28, pleaded guilty on May 31, 2024, to one count of being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. During his plea hearing, Goettsch admitted that he had two pistols in November 2023 despite having previous convictions for four felonies and a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing indicated that Goettsch was arrested after a brief standoff with law enforcement during which he did not comply with officers’ commands and officers drew their weapons.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Goettsch to 132 months in prison. After serving his sentence, Goettsch will be required to complete a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole available in the federal system.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that involves collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence. According to the Department of Justice, "On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results." More information about PSN can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psn.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
