Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 4 years for supplying stolen gun in ‘gang’ shots-fired incident

Cedar Rapids — A Cedar Rapids man, who supplied a stolen gun to another person in 2023 when rival gangs shot at each other on the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City, was sentenced Thursday to more than four years in federal prison.

Lesean Darnell Hardy Jr., 19, previously pleaded in U.S. District Court to one count of possession of firearms by a drug user. He gave another person a stolen weapon that was fired at a “rival gang member” on July 9, 2023, when Iowa City police officers responded to a shots-fired report at the Pedestrian Mall, according to federal court documents.

Authorities determined two rival gangs, “Money Boys and Blicka Gang,” from Cedar Rapids, were involved, the documents stated.

Surveillance videos showed Hardy, a member of the Blicka Gang, appeared to hand a gun to another individual who fired at a rival gang member. Hardy had just turned 18, according to court documents.

No injuries were reported.

On July 24, 2023, law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for Hardy’s residence and in his bedroom found a Girsan MC312, 12-gauge shotgun; a Taurus G2C 9 mm pistol; an extended magazine with 19 rounds of 9 mm ammunition; a 12-round capacity magazine containing seven rounds of 9 mm ammunition; additional 9 mm ammunition; two boxes of 20-gauge ammunition; and a box of 250 .22-caliber ammunition.

Also recovered from the bedroom was over 57 grams of marijuana, marijuana stems and five electronic devices, according to court documents.

The 12-gauge shotgun was reported stolen Feb. 12, 2023, and the 9 mm pistol was stolen Oct. 2, 2023, both from Cedar Rapids.

Testing on the shell casings from the 9 mm pistol showed it was the one used in the Ped Mall shooting as well as in a June 11, 2023, shots-fired incident in Cedar Rapids where a resident was struck multiple times, the document stated.

Hardy’s cellphone also had evidence involving his drug possession and multiple messages where Hardy was attempting to obtain firearms, according to the document.

His phone also had messages between him and his mother, where she told him to remove the shotgun from the residence and expressed her frustration with her son and others for smoking marijuana at the residence.

U.S. District Chief Judge C.J. Williams didn’t sentence Hardy to the top of the sentencing guideline, which was more than five years, as recommended by U.S. Assistant Attorney Emily Nydle. He sentenced Hardy to 57 months and ordered him to serve three years on supervised release following prison.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com