A Central Islip man was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of weapon possession during a January 2024 shooting that occurred in the parking lot of a baby shower held in North Amityville.
On January 27, 2024, Michael Lyles arrived at the North Amityville Fire Department as a guest for a baby shower. As the party was ending, a large fight broke out inside the event, involving several individuals attending the baby shower, including the defendant. As people began moving outside, surveillance video captured Lyles running to the vehicle he arrived in, opening both passenger side doors, and retrieving a firearm. Lyles then pointed the firearm in the direction of another party guest and began discharging his firearm 10 times, striking another guest’s vehicle multiple times.
The intended victim was unharmed, and the vehicle was thankfully unoccupied at the time of the shooting. Immediately after the shooting, the defendant handed off the firearm to another individual who fled the scene.
Suffolk County police officers responded to the scene and located 10 nine-millimeter shell casings and a gray Toyota Highlander with multiple bullet holes through the windshield, front hood, and side panels of the driver’s side of the vehicle. Through video surveillance footage, Lyles was identified as a suspect, and a search warrant was executed at his residence. During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement recovered the sweatshirt that the defendant was wearing on video surveillance footage during the shooting.
On November 25, 2025, Lyles was convicted after a jury trial heard before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski of two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Class C violent felonies.
In 2018, Lyles, 37, was convicted of Attempted Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony, for possessing a loaded firearm. Lyles was released to parole supervision in 2022 and was on parole at the time of this incident. After committing this crime, the defendant became non-compliant with his condition of parole and ultimately fled the jurisdiction. Law enforcement tracked Lyles’ movements with assistance from the United States Marshals Service, and he was apprehended approximately seven months after the shooting.
“Recidivist offenders such as this defendant pose a serious risk to the safety of our communities,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Everyone deserves a second chance, but I will not allow the same individuals to continuously commit crimes in Suffolk County and just get a slap on the wrist. We will hold you accountable and seek substantial prison sentences.”
On March 23, 2026, Lyles was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison.