Davenport, Iowa criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged for his role in a drug and racketeering conspiracy that encompassed four attempted murders and a stabbing at a local bar.

Mario Herrera, age 31, of Davenport was sentenced after pleading guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine. In April 2021, charges were announced for 15 members and asso... More...    $0 (03-08-2022 - IA)

Grand Rapids, Iowa criminal defense lawyer represented Guatemalan who was charged with possessing a fraudulent social security card.

Miguel Padilla, age 46, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and living in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 3, 2021, guilty plea to one count of unlawful possession of identification documents.

In a ple... More...    $0 (05-08-2021 - IA)

Des Moines, Iowa criminal defense lawyer represented defendant, who was charged with attempted murder.

Nicole Poole Franklin, 42, admitted driving her Jeep Grand Cherokee on Creston Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, where the first child-victim was walking along the sidewalk with another young relative. Upon seeing the children and believing that the victim was of Middle Eastern or African desc... More...    $0 (08-24-2021 - IA)

Cedar Rapids, IA - Criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged with escape from custody.

Robert Donzell Luckie, age 22, was charged with escape from custody. At guilty plea and sentencing hearings, Luckie admitted that, in December 2018, he was a sentenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa to 27 months’ imprisonment and a three-year term... More...    $0 (03-26-2021 - IA)

Grand Rapids, IA - The United States of America charged Jose Cruz-Medio with illegal reentry into the United States.

A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to eight months in federal prison.

Jose Cruz-Medio, age 48, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and residing in Postville, Iowa, received the prison... More...    $0 (02-28-2020 - IA)

Des Moines, IA - Des Moines Man Convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firear

Following a two-day trial, a jury found Ryan Nicholas Haynes, age 28, of West Des Moines, Iowa, guilty of one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

Haynes was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm on July 29, 2017. During trial, the government presented evidence that Haynes was pres... More...    $0 (11-18-2018 - IA)

A jury convicted Brian Allison of three counts of sexual abuse in the third degree in 2011. He appealed his conviction. In his direct appeal, Allison argued the district court erred in not granting him a new trial based upon the weight of the evidence under Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.24(2)(b)(6). Among other things, Allison noted the victim, his stepdaughter, initially denied the abuse, ... More...    $0 (07-03-2018 - IA)

The Rwandan Genocide is one of the darkest chapters in human history. Over
the span of 100 days, an estimated 800,000 people died. At least a million more were
displaced. During and shortly after the tragedy, the United States admitted a limited
number of refugees from Rwanda with priority given to those who were in the most
danger. Among those admitted were Gervais (“Ken”) Ngombwa... More...    $0 (06-22-2018 - IA)

This appeal raises, primarily, two issues of interpretation. Frank Washington
argues that the district court erred in its interpretation of the Speedy Trial Act and
crafted an unconstitutionally vague condition of supervised release. We agree with
the latter challenge, but disagree with the former assertion. We also disagree with
Washington’s only other claim on appeal—that his sen... More...    $0 (06-28-2018 - IA)

In November 2015, the State charged Fenton with burglary in the third
degree from a motor vehicle, an aggravated misdemeanor, in violation of Iowa
Code section 713.6A(2) (2015). Fenton entered a written guilty plea, allegedly
conditioned upon the court’s acceptance of the negotiated sentence including a
180-day suspended jail term. Fenton planned to request a deferred judgmen... More...    $0 (06-25-2018 - IA)

Cedar Rapids, IA - Michigan Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Fentanyl to Dubuque Overdose Victim

Thought He Was Sending a Hallucinogenic Drug That Turned Out to be Fentanyl

A man who ordered drugs from the dark web and had them shipped to a friend in Dubuque, who died after using the drugs, pled guilty on June 14, 2018, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Jay Rickert, age 28, ... More...    $0 (06-18-2018 - IA)

A jury convicted Muhammad Anwar of : (1) conspiracy to distribute controlled
substances and controlled substance analogues, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1),
841(b)(1)(c), and 846, and (2) conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation
of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h). The district court1 sentenced Anwar to 240 months’
imprisonment on the first count and 60 months on the second co... More...    $0 (01-28-2018 - IA)

Des Moines, IA - West Des Moines Man Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Carjacking at Gun Point

On January 12, 2018, Joseph Richard Salcido, age 25, of West Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt to 90 months of imprisonment for carjacking a relative at gun point in April 2017, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum.

Salci... More...    $0 (01-12-2018 - IA)

At around 8 p.m. on June 12, 2016, McDaniel was shot and killed in the parking lot
of an auto parts store in Saint Paul. Immediately before McDaniel was shot, he was
standing next to his cousin, Z.M., and looking under the hood of a car. At trial, Z.M.
testified that she did not see the shooter’s face, but did see a light-skinned black man
wearing a red shirt running away fro... More...    $0 (01-13-2018 - IA)

Robert Carl Sharp pleaded guilty after a grand jury returned a three-count
superseding indictment charging him with (1) conspiracy to manufacture and
distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; (2) possession with
intent to distribute a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and
(3) possession with intent to distribute, and aiding and a... More...    $0 (01-05-2018 - IA)

On September 18, 2015, a law enforcement officer in Des Moines noticed
a gold sedan, driven by Hall, had a malfunctioning brake light. The officer
activated his emergency lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Hall did
not stop. The officer continued to pursue Hall’s vehicle and was joined by a
trooper from the Iowa State Patrol. During the pursuit, the officer... More...    $0 (07-24-2017 - IA)

Victor Rivera, while driving under the influence of alcohol, caused a traffic
accident that killed a motorcyclist and seriously injured the motorcyclist’s
passenger. Rivera fled the scene in his vehicle and led officers on a short chase
before he was apprehended. Rivera pleaded guilty to unintentionally causing the
death of another by operating a motor vehicle while intoxicat... More...    $0 (06-17-2017 - IA)

On February 27, 2015, Justin Krutsinger went to the home of Keri Hanzlick
in Waukee at about 5:30 p.m. Krutsinger and Hanzlick had one to two drinks
before going to a restaurant for dinner, where Krutsinger had two or three bottles
of beer. On the way back to Hanzlick’s home, they picked up a twelve-pack of
beer and a bottle of vodka. Krutsinger had a few more drinks while t... More...    $0 (05-11-2017 - IA)

Allen Killings was convicted of murder in the first degree. This court
affirmed his conviction on direct appeal. See State v. Killings, No. 09-0739, 2010
WL 3894161, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. Oct. 6, 2010). Killings now appeals from the
denial of his application for postconviction relief, contending his postconviction
counsel was ineffective in two respects. First, Killings claim... More...    $0 (05-09-2017 - IA)

The following facts are drawn from the minutes of testimony and the defendant’s in-court admissions. FECR268551. On August 2, 2012, Betty Ann Nall visited Earlham Bank in Des Moines and opened an account with a counterfeit U.S. postal money order in the amount of $890. Nall had received the money order from an internet secret shopper program that she suspected was a scam. On August 3, Nall dep... More...    $0 (05-07-2017 - IA)

Jazmond and Keenan are brothers; Kendale is their cousin. One evening
in late August 2015, they were “hanging out” on Pershing Avenue in Davenport.
They saw Ramon, who they knew sold marijuana, take something out of his trunk
and enter the house where he lived with his father, Raymond March. Kendale
recalled discussing with his two companions a plan to take marijuana from More...    $0 (04-06-2017 - IA)

Following a jury trial, appellant Diamond Lee Jamal Griffin was convicted of first
degree felony murder, Minn. Stat. § 609.185(a)(3) (2014), in connection with the shooting
death of Francisco Benitez-Hernandez.1 On appeal, Griffin contends the district court
committed reversible error when it admitted Spreigl evidence and when it denied his
motion for a mistrial. He also claim... More...    $0 (11-18-2016 - IA)

Cedar Rapids, IA - Three Dubuque Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing Guns

Camron Andrew Pete, Jr., 24, received a statutory maximum ten-year prison term after his April 25, 2016 guilty plea to possessing a firearm while an unlawful user of a controlled substance. At sentencing, Pete admitted he fired shots at an occupied residence in Dubuque in December 2015. Chief ... More...    $0 (11-08-2016 - IA)

On August 19, 2013, Washington was charged by trial information with murder in the first degree in the death of Justina Smith. Washington entered a plea of not guilty and gave notice he would claim self-defense. The trial was initially set to begin on May 12, 2015. On May 5, 2015, Washington filed a motion to strike the jury panel, arguing there was “a material departure from the statutory... More...    $0 (10-27-2016 - IA)

On October 17, 2014, around 12:45 a.m., a tow-truck driver in the area of Sturdevant and River Drive in Davenport observed a silver Pontiac Grand Prix drive by at a high rate of speed; he also heard two or three shots go off from the vehicle. Davenport Police Officer Donnie Pridemore was investigating a hit-and run accident when he saw the silver Grand Prix and also heard a popping sound. As... More...    $0 (10-27-2016 - IA)

On August 8, 2014, at about 11:00 p.m., Thiel was driving his motorcycle
on East Grand Avenue when an SUV backed out of a driveway directly into his
path and he collided with it. The incident was observed by Officers Rodell
Nydam and Scott Neely, who were on foot patrol at the Iowa State Fair. In
speaking to Thiel, the officers noticed he appeared to be intoxicated. Thiel More...    $0 (10-14-2016 - IA)

In the early morning hours of Labor Day, September 1, 2014, Officer Brian Cuppy was on patrol in downtown Des Moines when he saw a truck eastbound on Court Avenue stop for a red light in the middle of the intersection with Water Street with its “back tires . . . more than five feet past the cross walk.” Officer Cuppy followed the truck, activated his police cruiser’s flashing lights, and initiate... More...    $0 (06-25-2016 - IA)

Christopher Byers was shot and killed in his living room while selling drugs
to Marquice Morris and Joshua McCoy. Two other men were present at the time
of the homicide: Tanner Harvey and Bobby Page, Byers’ friends. Who killed
Byers and why? According to Page, Morris and McCoy pulled out handguns
during the transaction for the purpose of robbing Byers; either Morris or McCo... More...    $0 (06-18-2016 - IA)

Christopher Byers was shot and killed in his living room while selling
marijuana to Marquice Morris and Joshua McCoy. Tanner Harvey and Bobby
Page, Byers’ friends, were in the home at the time of the shooting. According to
Page, Morris and McCoy pulled out handguns during the transaction for the
purpose of robbing Byers; either Morris or McCoy fired a shot into the floor and ... More...    $0 (06-18-2016 - IA)

Malcolm Nix appeals his judgment and sentence for first-degree robbery
and felon in possession of a firearm. He contends his trial attorney was
ineffective in failing to file a motion to suppress an on-the-scene identification of
him by the person he was accused of robbing. While we generally preserve
ineffective assistance claims for postconviction relief, we find the record... More...    $0 (05-13-2016 - IA)

On June 15, 2013, Frederick Rottmiller was a maintenance man at a Cedar Rapids apartment building. Rottmiller, a septuagenarian, was called to an apartment occupied by Theodore Gathercole and his ex-wife to inspect a water leak. While there, Rottmiller loaned Gathercole twenty dollars. Hours later, after midnight, Gathercole knocked on Rottmiller’s apartment door and asked for more money, claim... More...    $0 (03-25-2016 - IA)

In 1999, Phuoc Thanh Nguyen was convicted of first-degree murder based on alternative theories that included a felony-murder theory. On direct appeal, the court of appeals recounted the evidence presented at trial and established a number of facts that a jury could have found based on the record:
On the afternoon of July 15, 1998, Nguyen and Dao approached “The Cloud,” a Des Moines bar. Dao... More...    $0 (03-11-2016 - IA)

Boise, ID - California Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft

Christopher Sheldon Miller, 40, of Union City, California, pleaded to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on September 9, 2015.

According to court proceedings, Miller admitted that he and his co-... More...    $0 (01-27-2016 - IA)

On August 18, 2010, a grand jury charged Walker with one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute at least 50 grams of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. Through counsel, Walker entered into extensive plea negotiations with the government. In an attempt to reduce the statutory mandatory minimum Walker faced from ten years to five y... More...    $0 (01-14-2016 - IA)

A jury convicted David Tumea of unlawful possession of ammunition as a previously convicted felon and possession of an unregistered firearm. The district court sentenced Tumea to 96 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release. On appeal, Tumea challenges his term of imprisonment and two special conditions of supervised release. We affirm the term of imprisonment and uphold the cond... More...    $0 (01-14-2016 - IA)