TAMPA, Fla. A Lakeland man who admitted to illegally possessing the firearm used in a 2020 Christmas Eve shootout that killed a 70-year-old grandmother and wounded three others has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, federal prosecutors announced.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle sentenced 29-year-old Taqiy Lewis of Lakeland to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty on March 2, 2026, to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon in connection with the shooting.
According to court documents, the shooting occurred on Dec. 24, 2020, at approximately 5:30 p.m. outside the Lakeland home of a 70-year-old woman identified as M.C. She was outside with family members, including young children, when Lewis and others engaged in a shootout in front of the residence.
M.C. was struck twice and died from her injuries. Three other people, including a 13-year-old, were also shot and wounded during the exchange of gunfire.
The firearm used in the shooting was not recovered until more than two years later. On Feb. 9, 2023, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and officers with the Lakeland Police Department recovered a Kahr CM9 9mm pistol while executing a search warrant during an unrelated investigation in Lakeland.
Investigators used the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, commonly known as NIBIN, to compare ballistic evidence. Forensic testing determined the recovered pistol was the same firearm used during the 2020 shooting.
According to prosecutors, six shell casings recovered from the crime scene, two bullets recovered from the residence and a bullet recovered during the victim’s autopsy were all fired from the Kahr CM9 pistol that Lewis possessed.
Federal prosecutors said Lewis was a convicted felon at the time of the shooting and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The investigation also determined that after the shooting, Lewis obtained a false alibi and arranged for the jacket and sandals he wore during the shooting to be burned in a barrel in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
Federal officials noted that Lewis remains under investigation by state authorities in connection with M.C.’s death.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lakeland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diego F. Novaes prosecuted the federal case.