Des Moines, Iowa criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with sex trafficking three adult females by force, fraud, and coercion and kidnapping one of the adult females; 30 years for sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor female; and 10 years for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Richard Thomas Ball, 47, used deceptive and coercive tactics as... More...    $0 (10-27-2023 - IA)

Cedar Rapids, Iowa criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with interstate violent threats to family or federal official in violation of 18 U.S.C. 115, which provides:

(a)
(1) Whoever—
(A) assaults, kidnaps, or murders, or attempts or conspires to kidnap or murder, or threatens to assault, kidnap or murder a member of the immediate family of a United States off... More...    $0 (09-08-2023 - 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)

Keokuk, IA - Man Convicted of First-Degree Murder For Joint Kidnapping, Torture, and Execution of Gender-Fluid Teen Kedarie Johnson

Jaron N. Purham was convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the kidnapping, torture, and execution of gender-fluid high school student Kedarie Johnson. Purham’s co-defendant, Jorge Sanders-Galvez, was previously convicted of first-degree murder last ... More...    $0 (10-09-2018 - IA)

Joel Herrarte Jr. was originally charged by trial information with kidnapping
in the second degree (count I), assault while participating in a felony (count II), and
willful injury causing bodily injury (count III). After a trial to the bench, the court
found Herrarte guilty of counts II and III. The court acquitted Herrarte of second
degree kidnapping but found Herrarte guilt... More...    $0 (09-15-2018 - IA)

We previously stated the facts of this case on Maddox’s first appeal:
[Maddox], co-defendant Jeremy Gibler, and the victim were riding around together on December 17, 2009, after having spent time together drinking at the home of Gibler’s aunt and then going to the home of a person [Maddox] knew. [Maddox] was driving, Gibler was in the back seat, and the victim was in the passenger’s seat. ... More...    $0 (09-14-2018 - IA)

On the evening of Saturday, January 7, 2006, Holly Michael, Becky Sittig,
Ashleigh Attig, and Harper hung out at Michael’s house in Fort Dodge beginning
at around 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.2 From then until the early morning hours of January
8, the group drank alcohol, smoked marijuana, and consumed cocaine. The group
left the residence to go to a nearby bar at which they arrived arou... More...    $0 (09-14-2018 - IA)

Montezuma, IA - The State of Iowa charged Cristhian Bahens Rivera with kidnapping and first-degree murder for killing Mollie Tibbets.

It is believed that Rivera had been in the United States for a number of years illegally and had worked on a farm. ... More...    $0 (08-25-2018 - IA)

The events giving rise to Poland’s convictions occurred on March 10, 2016,
at the home where Poland lived with his parents and three younger sisters.
Poland, then twenty years old, was dating L.R., who was sixteen years old. L.R.
had been staying at the home for approximately one week but decided to leave
because Poland was drinking vodka. L.R. did not like being around Pola... More...    $0 (07-08-2018 - IA)

Revette Sauser pled guilty to kidnapping in the second degree, voluntary
manslaughter, and going armed with intent, after fatally shooting her husband,
Terry, in their home. Sauser filed a postconviction-relief application and an
amended application alleging a variety of errors. The district court denied the
application after a trial.
Sauser appeals, contending her tri... More...    $0 (06-25-2018 - IA)

Jeremiah Johnson appeals the denial of his second application for
postconviction relief (PCR).
In 2009, Johnson was convicted of first-degree kidnapping; he was
sentenced to life in prison. Johnson filed a direct appeal of his conviction, and a
panel of our court affirmed in State v. Johnson, No. 09-1776, 2010 WL 5050573,
at *4 (Iowa Ct. App. Dec. 8, 2010). Procedendo... More...    $0 (04-06-2018 - IA)

A college student on her way home for winter break stopped at a rest area
in Monona County, Iowa. A man in the women’s restroom accosted her, forcibly
moved her to the handicapped stall, threatened her with a pocket knife, and raped
her.
A jury found Mark Bitzan guilty of first-degree kidnapping.1 This court
affirmed his judgment and sentence of life in prison. See S... More...    $0 (01-12-2018 - IA)

Darrell Teeter was murdered on August 11, 2014, at the same location
where he lived and worked, the Main Street Bait Shop in downtown Eldon. The
bait shop was in the front of the building, and Teeter’s residence was in the back.
Teeter had been ill and undergoing dialysis a few days a week, and he had been
prescribed hydrocodone for chronic pain.
A few days prior to hi... More...    $0 (12-24-2017 - IA)

Lira and Michael Dewispelaere were associated drug dealers in the Quad
Cities area. Dewispelaere would sell drugs to Lira, and Lira would repay him with
cash or different drugs. Late in July 2015, Dewispelaere gave Lira two pounds of
marijuana. Lira did not pay the full purchase price at the time of the exchange
and was expected to pay about $5000 to Dewispelaere when Lira s... More...    $0 (10-31-2017 - IA)

In its ruling affirming Gailey’s convictions on direct appeal, this court set
forth the following facts surrounding the incident leading to Gailey’s charges:
The charges at issue in this case arose from a series of events that occurred on April 25, 2007. At the time, Gailey was under a protective order prohibiting contact with his wife, Dawn, and step-daughter, Jane Doe II. Dawn, acco... More...    $0 (07-25-2017 - IA)

Due to events occurring on February 3, 2015, Lyke was charged with six
offenses: count I–attempted murder, count II–robbery in the first degree, count
III–intimidation with a dangerous weapon, count IV–going armed with intent,
count V–willful injury, and count VI–kidnapping in the second degree; counts I, II,
and VI being class “B” felonies.
On June 24, 2016, the State... More...    $0 (07-24-2017 - IA)

In its ruling affirming Gailey’s convictions on direct appeal, this court set
forth the following facts surrounding the incident leading to Gailey’s charges:
The charges at issue in this case arose from a series of events that occurred on April 25, 2007. At the time, Gailey was under a protective order prohibiting contact with his wife, Dawn, and step-daughter, Jane Doe II. Dawn, acco... 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)

Vincent Ramos appeals from the summary dismissal of his 2015
postconviction-relief (PCR) application challenging his 2003 conviction for first
degree kidnapping. Ramos asserts the jury instructions given at trial were
defective because they failed to include language that would comply with State v.
Rich, 305 N.W.2d 739 (Iowa 1981),1 and “more importantly the recent case of
... More...    $0 (06-15-2017 - IA)

Following a guilty plea in 2012, Todd Mills was convicted of three counts
of second-degree sexual abuse.1 His sentence called for two of the twenty-five
year sentences to run consecutively and one twenty-five-year sentence to run
concurrently. His sentence was also to run concurrently with the sentence he
was serving in Nebraska for similar offenses. Mills did not file a dire... More...    $0 (05-09-2017 - IA)

On December 17, 2009, Gibler and David Maddox went for a drive
accompanied by another gentleman, who became their victim. Gibler was in the
backseat, Maddox was driving, and the victim was in the front-passenger seat.
Maddox drove to the banks of the Missouri River where he stopped. Gibler
struck the victim on the back of the head, and Maddox pulled him out of the car.
... More...    $0 (02-10-2017 - IA)

Landon Riley appeals from his convictions and sentences, following the
entry of an Alford plea, for two counts of willful injury causing bodily injury. Riley
maintains his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by allowing him to
plead guilty without a factual basis and then failing to file a motion in arrest of
judgment. He also maintains the district court abused its... More...    $0 (12-01-2016 - IA)

The parties stipulated to the following facts. Breeden and Hochmuth were incarcerated under the custody of the IDOC.3 Breeden was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term of twenty-five years.4 She was age sixteen at the time of her offense. She began serving her prison sentence on March 3, 2003.
Hochmuth was convicted of second-degree kidnapping, first-degree... More...    $0 (11-18-2016 - IA)

Twenty-year-old A. and Stinde became acquainted through work and
began dating, which developed into an intimate relationship. They lived together
off and on for about three months. They were not living together on January 15,
2014, but at about 9:30 p.m., they went to the Quad City Inn for the purpose of
having consensual sex. They took A.’s car, and she paid for the room re... More...    $0 (09-16-2016 - IA)

Feuring, who is seventy-four years old, had been acquainted with YY1
since she was a young child. When YY was approximately fourteen years old,
Feuring began making comments that made her uncomfortable. YY testified, “He
would tell me how I appealed to him, tell me how beautiful I was. He would ask
me if I had a boyfriend. He would tell me that he would always take care of ... More...    $0 (09-16-2016 - IA)

Gary Cortez Marshall Jr. hired an attorney to represent him in a criminal
matter. Five months later, the attorney moved to withdraw, alleging
“irreconcilable differences . . . which ha[d] caused the irretrievable breakdown of
the attorney/client relationship.” Following a hearing, the district court denied the
motion, and the case proceeded to trial.
On the second day... More...    $0 (09-16-2016 - IA)

DES MOINES, IA – Ankeny Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography and Related Charge

On July 27, 2016, Aaron Lawrence Storm, 35, of Ankeny, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey to a total of 12 years in federal prison and 15 years of supervised release. Storm had previously pleaded guilty to the offense of possession of child pornography, ... More...    $0 (08-18-2016 - IA)

In 2000, a jury convicted Whiteside of kidnapping in the first degree and
sexual abuse in the third degree. His conviction was affirmed on appeal. See
State v. Whiteside, No. 00-941, 2001 WL 709540, at *5 (Iowa Ct. App. June 13,
2001). Whiteside filed his first PCR application in 2001, which was denied. The
appeal of the denial was dismissed as frivolous and procedendo issu... More...    $0 (08-10-2016 - IA)

The evidence introduced at the criminal trial established that in the early
morning hours of March 4, 1999, sixty-seven-year-old B.S. was attacked in her
Des Moines home. The perpetrator, later identified by B.S. and confirmed by
DNA evidence, was Bryson. During the attack, Bryson performed oral sex on
B.S. and forced B.S. to perform oral sex on him. Then B.S. insisted she n... More...    $0 (07-03-2016 - IA)

In 1998, Juan Carlos Astello was convicted of kidnapping in the first
degree, in violation of Iowa Code sections 710.1 and 710.2 (1997), and murder in
the second degree, in violation of Iowa Code sections 7078.1 and 707.3. He was
sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the former offense and fifty
years’ incarceration with an eighty-five-percent mandatory minim... More...    $0 (06-19-2016 - IA)

Ronald Carris dialed 911 from inside the trunk of his own car, whispering
his license plate number to the dispatcher so police could intercept his
kidnappers. Carris was able to identify “Deb” as one of his captors. The phone
line remained open while Carris suffered multiple blows from a brick. By the time
the police tracked the phone to Prospect Park, Carris was bleeding he... More...    $0 (06-19-2016 - IA)

In 2014, Lewis entered into three separate plea agreements with the State
regarding three separate offenses: driving while license revoked; public
intoxication, third offense; and operating while intoxicated, second offense (OWI).
In those agreements, the State indicated it would recommend the following on
each charge, respectively: (1) $1000 fine; (2) “2 yrs prison, $625 suspe... More...    $0 (05-26-2016 - IA)

Dan Hampton appeals the order granting the State’s motion for summary
judgment on his application for postconviction relief (PCR). Hampton, who was
convicted of first-degree kidnapping in 1992 and whose conviction was affirmed
on direct appeal the following year, argues his claim is not barred by the
limitations period set forth in Iowa Code section 822.3 (2015) because it is ... More...    $0 (05-12-2016 - IA)

On February 2, 2013, Poell was visiting Richards at his mother’s house in Davenport, where Richards lived. Both Poell and Richards were napping, Poell in bed and Richards on a couch in the same room. Beyond those facts, however, accounts of the day’s events diverge significantly.
3
A. Poell’s Testimony. According to Poell, she awoke to discover a message on her cell phone from anoth... More...    $0 (05-09-2016 - IA)

James Effler appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction
relief. We conclude neither trial nor appellate counsel provided constitutionally
deficient performance and therefore affirm the district court’s ruling.
James Effler was convicted of first-degree kidnapping for taking a two
year-old girl to the men’s bathroom of the Des Moines Central Library and
... More...    $0 (04-28-2016 - IA)

On April 28, 2009, two groups of young men—affiliated with two separate
gangs—met at a park in Waterloo to fight out their differences. Johnson was not
a member of either gang but went to the park to watch the fight. Ultimately,
Johnson, who was armed with a knife, became involved in the altercation. Two
individuals, Steven Perry and Bryce Smith, were stabbed during the cour... More...    $0 (04-06-2016 - IA)

Ronald Carris dialed 911 from inside the trunk of his own car, whispering
his license plate number to the dispatcher so police could intercept his
kidnappers. The phone line remained open while his captors brutally beat Carris
with a brick. By the time the Des Moines police tracked the victim’s cell phone to
Prospect Park, just before 6 a.m. on April 11, 2014, Carris was blee... More...    $0 (04-06-2016 - IA)