Cedar Rapids felon faces another 10 years for federal gun conviction

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man, sentenced last year for unintentionally shooting an 18-year-old woman and violating probation on a gun conviction, faces another 10 years for a federal firearms conviction.

Larenzo L. Burnett, 21, pleaded Wednesday to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Burnett was convicted in state court of intimidation with a dangerous weapon in March 2020 and was an unlawful drug user of marijuana, according to court documents.

Last July, Burnett was sentenced in Linn County District Court to 10 years for involuntary manslaughter and tampering with a witness. His probation was revoked on the intimidation with a dangerous weapon conviction.

Burnett, in a written plea, admitted to recklessly discharging a gun Dec. 22, 2020, and unintentionally causing the death of Marisa Doolin.

She was shot in the face and died Dec. 26, 2020, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

A criminal complaint stated Burnett was waving a weapon around Doolin’s face, and the gun discharged when she tried to push it away while she and Burnett were in an apartment at 2110 Westdale Dr. SW.

Burnett and another person in the apartment at the time fled after Doolin was shot. Doolin was found at 3:25 p.m., lying on the couch, according to the criminal complaint.

Burnett and the witness, who wasn’t identified, initially told police Doolin was shot through a window by an unknown person, according to the complaint. But police said there was no damage to any windows and a single shell casing was found inside the apartment.

Two days after the shooting, Burnett, in a phone call from the Linn County Jail, threatened the witness, warning him to not talk to police and “to be ready for whatever is coming to him,” according to police.

Burnett also has a pending burglary charge out of Michigan and has waived extradition. He would serve his Iowa prison term and possibly time on the federal charge before being sent back to Michigan.

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