Man who threatened estranged wife sentenced on gun charges

Robert Neuzil, 62, of Fort Atkinson, was sentenced in U.S. District Court Tuesday to ten years in prison for possessing firearms after threatening to kill his estranged wife last year.

Neuzil pleaded guilty in September for two counts of possessing a short-barreled rifle and one count of possessing a smooth bore pistol.

Neuzil was arrested April 9, 2009 in Winneshiek County after receiving a phone call from his estranged wife, according to court records. The woman told police Neuzil was on his way to her home in Minnesota and threatened to kill her and her family. When deputies stopped Neuzil, he was carrying a loaded handgun and two knives. He also had two rifles in the front of the car, ammunition and another rifle in the trunk.

Neuzil admitted to deputies he was on his way to his estranged wife's home and that he threatened to kill her. Police searched Neuzil's residence and recovered the short-barreled rifles, the pistol, more than 25 firearms and pipe bombs.

“Cases involving violence against women are very serious,” U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose said Wednesday. “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 also fined $5,000.