BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Talladega man to 54 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.

U.S. District Judge Corey L. Maze sentenced Armetris Lyons, 44, to 54 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Lyons pleaded guilty to the charge in April.  Lyons had four prior felony convictions for attempted murder, theft, discharging a gun into an unoccupied building, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

“Persons with long histories of violent crime and drug offenses, like this defendant, are the focus of our firearms enforcement efforts.” U.S. Attorney Escalona said. “We are grateful for the work of ATF and the Talladega Police Department in helping to reduce violent crime in this district.”

“This court action demonstrates its commitment to law enforcement’s priority to target the illegal possession of firearms to include the use in violent criminal acts,” said SAC Mickey French.  “ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence leverages technology to reduce violent firearms related crimes.”

According to testimony at the sentencing hearing, on December 31, 2019, Talladega police officers responded to a call of shots being fired in an apartment complex in Talladega.  As one officer drove up to the location, he witnessed Lyons fire a pistol into the air while holding a child’s hand on the grip of the gun.  After the discharge, the child ran away from Lyons.  Lyons then fired about four more times and ran into an apartment as the officer approached.  The officer knocked on the door and took Lyons into custody when he opened the door.  Other officers recovered a Taurus .38 caliber revolver inside the apartment.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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. 

The ATF investigated the case along with the Talladega Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Baty prosecuted the case.