Patrick Reinert

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Reinert left Cedar Rapids this week to take over the command of a coalition which helps reinforce the Afghan criminal justice system and promote the legitimacy of its government.

“Having a court system work – ties people to the government,” said Reinert, who is a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army Reserve. “The coalition is set up to help the Afghan judicial system work more efficiently. It’s not to turn their system into an American system. We support their system and government.”

The Rule of Law Field Force-Afghanistan is a joint coalition comprised of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard members along with military personnel from Afghanistan, Poland, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. The field force partners with civil military law teams to build the court system’s capacity, increase access to dispute resolution, fight corruption, and promote the Afghan government.

The NATO Rule of Law Support Mission, which Reinert will also lead, provides liaison and security to Afghan and international civilian technical personnel to support the building of the judicial system.

Reinert said a strong government and judicial system are important because when the Taliban dominated the area they set up their own courts, many in the remote regions, where security is a factor and more difficult for judicial officials to access. Many of the Afghan people didn’t have any recourse for resolutions, except in those courts.

“We’re just there to support the judges and lawyers in their roles,” Reinert said. “About five or six years ago the field of force started sending over judges and lawyers as mentors. They would help judges learn how to manage the dockets so more cases are resolved faster. Many of the judges have to commute to different courts and in different regions. It’s not like here where a judge may live in Cedar Rapids and just has to go to the Linn County Courthouse. Many of those areas have rough terrain.”

The field force coalition, set up in 2001, are part of the transition of security responsibility to the Afghan government, now that the Taliban have been removed from power, Reinert said.

“Having law abiding communities will help stabilize the country and provide a normal existence, which will also lead to economic development – another component of the field of force (missions),” Reinert said. “If the country is stable and the government is strong, others will want to come in and invest in the country.”

Achievements of the rule of law field force missions include:

• A national security Justice Center in Parwan province, which now has 2 Afghan judicial trial panels, hearing hundreds of trials since 2010
• Building Afghan forensic evidence capabilities, now has 2 regional labs
• Deployment by the Afghan government of dozens of justice officials to districts without any in the past
• Afghan public trials at the district level, which promotes transparency and public accountability of defendants, as well as judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers.

Reinert said there are also more cases are going through the courts, there are more courthouses open and an increase in court personnel, and there have been 200 judges sworn in and a significant number of those are women, which hasn’t happened in the past.

Reinert will serve as command for a year. He said being away from his family is tough but he’s looking forward to the opportunity and is fortunate to have an office that supports his leave.

Interim U.S. Attorney Sean Berry said Reinert will be missed in the office because he’s such an experienced attorney but fully supports his important mission in Afghanistan. Reinert serves as the chief prosecutor for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program.

Reinert was promoted to Brigadier General in 2010. His previous assignment with the U.S. Army Reserve was as Commanding General for the Legal Command in Gaithersburg, Md. The Legal Command is a nationwide command comprised of about 1,800 soldiers assigned to 28 subordinate units in 43 states. Reinert also has served as a military judge and presided over 98 trials with cases from Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Darrell Bolden, originally charged with second-degree burglary, was convicted on a lesser charge of second-degree attempted burglary by a Linn County jury following a one and half day trial . The jury deliberated about two hours.

The attempted burglary charge carries a five year prison term but Bolden could face up to 15 years because Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden will ask the court to consider him a habitual offender, which has a sentencing enhancement to increase the prison time up to 15 years.

Vander Sanden said Wednesday he filed the sentencing enhancement because Bolden is a “career criminal with a lengthy criminal record.”

A hearing on the special sentencing will be set later this week.

According to trial testimony, a neighbor testified to seeing Bolden drive his bicycle into the victim’s garage and was going through a car when the neighbor confronted him. The neighbor brought his pitbull with him and the dog bit Bolden. When police arrested Bolden two weeks later they found dog bites on him.

The defense maintained Bolden’s innocence during the trial, and claimed the neighbor was on probation and his dog was running at large so he made up the story about Bolden to avoid getting a probation violation.

Bolden also faces another charge of attempted burglary in a different case. He is accused of attempting to break into a house. He trial in this case is set Aug. 5.

Kevin Maurice Jones was charged in April with attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary, but those charges are now dismissed without prejudice, which allows the state to refile charges if warranted, according to a motion filed Wednesday by the Linn County Attorney’s Office.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Jason Burns said in the motion the charges were being dismissed based on review of investigative materials and information gathered in depositions. He also said further investigation was needed in this case.

Three others have been charged in the case. They are accused of shooting Joshua Spears, 36, causing serious injury, while participating in a drug robbery Jan. 3, according to a criminal complaint.

Robert Cole, 23, Cedric Lang, 17, and Keanan Mercer, 17, were also charged with attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in this incident.

Police found Spears with a gunshot wound to his left arm after responding to the robbery. Officers said several men entered the apartment through an unlocked door, a rifle was displayed, words were exchanged and Spears was shot.

Police said they are also looking for another man in this case, Alonzo Stokes, 21. Stokes is wanted for attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary charges.

The case remains under investigation.

It’s not a jet landing in the yard. It’s pressurized air being released as sand is removed from the new well on Echo Hill Road.

Todd Stiegerwaldt, general manager of the Marion Water Department, said the city has had several phone calls over the last few months since the process started in January but now that the weather is warming up, windows are open and more people are noticing the noise.

Stiegerwaldt said the process extracts sand from the tank with pressurized air, which produces a “loud, howling, roaring” sound but it’s the best way to protect the pump in the well.

“It’s annoying and it will make the sound several times a day when the pressure is released and then the next day they pull up the sand, and then they start again,” Stiegerwaldt said. “There’s no harmful emissions, it’s just pressurized air being released.”

The sand, which isn’t going into the drinking water, has to be removed from the tank because it destroyed one pump that only lasted about three months and it should have been worked for five or six years, Stiegerwaldt said. The pumps cost about $25,000. There was a lot of stopping and starting when a pump first goes on line but it was the sand that broke it.

Stiegerwaldt said there’s huge piles of extracted white sand from the well that city officials thought about recycling for playgrounds and parks but this sand is too fine, almost powder-like. They decided it might be a hazard because it would be difficult to brush off a child or could get in a child’s eyes. A golf course also tried to use the sand but it didn’t work for their purpose.

The noise will only last a few more weeks. The sand removal should be completed by the end of May.

Marcelino Hivento, in a 2005 Gazette file photo.

A 62-year-old man was charged last week with sexually assaulting one of his 14-year-old dance students.

Marcelino Hivento was charged with third-degree sexual abuse. He is accused of abusing the teenaged girl May 1, through Oct. 31, 2012 in his home at 421 15th St. SE. The girl, now 15, told police Hivento forced several sexual acts upon her, according to a criminal complaint.

Hivento admitted to the sexual abuse when investigators questioned him, according to a criminal complaint.

Cedar Rapids Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said during the investigation, officers discovered Hivento teaches dance lessons out of his home. Investigators didn’t have any information if he was teaching dance as a business. No other alleged victims have come forward, but police don’t rule out the possibility.

Hivento, who is originally from Bolivia, told The Gazette in previous interviews he wanted to develop a Latino dance troupe for children and wanted to build a Latin cultural center.

According to  Guide Star, which gathers information about IRS registered non-profits, Hivento established a non-profit organization,  Latin American Museum and Cultural Center, in 2003. The center’s address is Hivento’s home address. There’s no annual revenue and expenses listed and there is little detail on the organization.

In 2005, Hivento told a Gazette reporter the cultural center operated out of eight Latino residences throughout the city. He said each of the host homes offer classes, performances, group session and a place to meet. He said there were 150 active members.

Each worker can recover $50,000 plus interest, according to federal law, instead of $7.5 million, which a jury awarded May 1 in U.S. District Court in Davenport. The workers can also receive back payments, which average $50,000, according to court documents.

According to a formal agreement filed last Friday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the law limits compensatory and punitive damages based on certain criteria, including number of employees. If there are “more than 14 and fewer than 101 employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year,” then $50,000 is the limit for damages.

The EEOC acknowledged the total number of employees of Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry’s Turkey Service, of Goldthwaite, Tx., consisted of only a few officers and employees in Texas and fewer than 50 in Iowa, including 32 workers with disabilities, and the total number was less than 101, according to the agreement.

The commission stated in the agreement the $7.5 million awarded by the jury to each worker, an “appropriate and meaningful measure of the actual harms suffered by these victims of discrimination,” must be “drastically reduced” to meet the “stringent” statutory limits for recovery under the law.

A federal jury found the company created an unlawful hostile environment for the men and discriminated against them on the basis of their disability. The verdict and award followed a week-long trial in Davenport.

According to the lawsuit filed by the EEOC against Hill Country Farms, workers at the West Liberty turkey plant were hit and kicked by Hill Country employees, called names, denied bathroom breaks, and restrained or confined to rooms. Injuries and complaints of pain or requests for doctor’s visits were ignored.

A federal judge last September found that Henry’s Turkey Service, which shut down in February 2009, had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by paying the workers “severely substandard wages” – $65 a month, instead of $11 to $12 per hour given to non-disabled workers who did the same work, according to the summary judgment. Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Wolle awarded the workers $1.3 million for the pay discrimination.

The EEOC also asked the court to include the calculation of prejudgment interest, which is based on the award of $50,000 per class member of the lawsuit.

Jacob Ahlers of Greeley, is charged in juvenile court with two counts of threat of terrorism and two counts of false reports, all felonies. Each charge carries a five year term. Ahlers is accused of calling 911 early Tuesday and telling dispatchers there were multiple bombs at Edgewood-Colesburg High School in Edgewood.

Law enforcement conducted a search of the building and grounds and explosive detection dogs from the Dubuque Police Department and the State Fire Marshall’s Office aided in the search. Authorities didn’t find any type of explosive device or suspicious items.

Ahlers is the younger brother of Brandon Ahlers, 20, of Manchester, who is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting in first-degree murder. Brandon Ahlers is accused in the double homicide of Janet, 62, and Richard, 55 Sweet on May 13, 2012. According to criminal complaint, he suggested to his friend Isaiah Sweet different ways to kill the couple.

Isaiah Sweet, 18, of Manchester, grandson of Janet and Richard, is also charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Janet and Richard Sweet were found dead in their home with gunshot wounds to the head.

A bench trial for Brandon Ahlers is set May 22, and Sweet’s trial is set Oct. 16.

Gerald Heber of Walford, pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and felonious misconduct in office May 2, according to court records. He faces up to 10 years in prison and and $7,500 in fines. Sentencing is set 1 p.m. June 27 in Benton County District Court.  

Heber was charged after another employee discovered charges made on the county’s credit card by Heber were made during the time Heber was on medical leave. The Benton County Attorrney’s Office asked the Iowa State Auditor to conduct an audit regarding these financial transactions from June 1, 2010 through Nov. 7, 2011.The auditor report found $2,794 in fuel purchases were made by Heber without adequate documentation.

Heber admitted to Benton County Sheriff’s investigators that he purchased fuel for his personal vehicle and purchased fuel on days when he was on vacation or sick leave, according to the audit report.

Sholom Rubashkin , former Agriprocessors vice president, will be sentenced today to 27 years in federal prison for bank fraud and other charges — a sentence his family has decried as cruel.

In a sentencing order filed Monday, U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade also said Rubashkin will have to pay more than $26 million in immediate restitution to two banks and one livestock supplier.

Rubashkin , 51, of Postville, was convicted in November of 86 federal counts of bank, mail and wire fraud, money laundering and failure to pay livestock providers in a timely manner. The charges stem from a May 2008 immigration raid at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville; more than 400 illegal workers were arrested.

“The sentence is greater than necessary; indeed, it is greater than what the government asked for,” said Guy Cook, one of Rubashkin ‘s Des Moines attorneys.

The government asked during an April sentencing hearing for a 25-year sentence.

Bob Barr, former U.S. attorney general in Georgia and another of Rubashkin ‘s attorneys, said they will appeal the verdict and sentencing.

“Obviously, we’re very disappointed in today’s ruling,” Rubashkin ‘s wife, Leah, said. “We feel it’s a life sentence.”

She said her family has been greatly affected by the news, and she called Reade cruel for not taking Rubashkin ‘s family into account.

Reade said in the sentencing order that the sentence is within the guideline range and is “firmly rooted in credible evidence.”

“A District Court’s job is not to impose a reasonable sentence, but rather to impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, (to comply with the law),” the order stated.

The defense asked for a downward variance in the guidelines, saying Rubashkin didn’t commit the offense for personal gain. Reade said no matter what Rubashkin ‘s motives were, he defrauded the banks out of millions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Teig dismissed the defense’s complaints that the sentence is unfair and that Rubashkin ‘s conduct was not for “personal gain,” noting that hundreds of thousands of dollars in diverted funds were put into his personal account.

Sentencing will be 3:30 p.m. today at the temporary Federal Courthouse.

Cook said Rubashkin met the news calmly and knows whatever happens, “he’s in the hands of God.”

The Agriprocessors immigration trial would have shed light on the broken immigration system and how a town was left in ruin, a Postville minister says.

Rev. Steve Brackett, of St. Paul Lutheran Church, was disappointed Thursday after hearing news that the 72 immigration charges against Agriprocessors and former company Vice President Sholom Rubashkin were dropped.

The charges stemmed from the largest on-site immigration raid at the Postville kosher meatpacking plant in May 2008. More than 389 illegal workers were charged and convicted before the government pursued charges against management.

“Some hoped the trial would bring out what happened and the stories of the people involved would be told,” Brackett said.

Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, said he was “extremely” disappointed the charges were dropped.

“If crimes are committed, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Braley said.

The government filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the immigration charges, including harboring and aiding and abetting the harboring of illegal immigrants for profit. U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade granted it without prejudice, so the government can reinstate charges at will.

According to the motion, the dismissal was based on expense and last week’s conviction of Rubashkin on financial fraud charges which would outweigh sentencing guidelines if he were found guilty of the immigration charges.

The jury verdict on the fraud charges last week in Sioux Falls, S.D., could mean a prison sentence of hundreds of years for Rubashkin , 50.

Guy Cook, Rubashkin ‘s attorney, said he welcomed the dismissal because Rubashkin has denied any criminal actions from the start. A motion for a new trial will be filed next week and an appeal will be pursued if that fails.

Postville leaders said they didn’t want the trial to punish Rubashkin , they just hoped it would bring national attention to immigration problems.

Rev. Paul Ouderkirk, of St. Bridget Catholic Church in Postville, said the criminal charges are only half the story. People’s lives were ruined after the raid shut down the meatpacking plant, he said.

“What’s the cost of human suffering and pain?” Ouderkirk said. “They didn’t have this because of cost. Since when is there a price on justice? It’s just more politically correct to not address this (immigration issue).”

Brackett said the trial would have brought up “irregularities” in the due process of illegal workers charged in the raid. The illegal workers were arrested, charged and taken through mass sentencings within a few weeks of the raid.

Brackett said the dismissal leaves a question of what will happened to the material witnesses who have been in jail for 18 months.

“They haven’t been allowed to go home because they were going to testify. Will they now be deported?”

Donovan A. Ross

A trial for a 21-year-old Hiawatha man accused of killing a Cedar Rapids man in 2011 was reset to October because one witness cannot be located and another witness wasn’t available to testify this month.

Donovan Ross, charged with first-degree murder, waived his right to speedy trial and will not stand trial next week as previously set. His trial will now start Oct. 7, in Linn County District Court.

In the motion to continue, the attorneys also told the court that plea negotiations are ongoing.

Ross, along with is cousin, Justin Ross, 19, of Cedar Rapids, is accused of fatally shooting Andre Herron, 30, who was found dead on 7th Street SW, Nov. 26, 2011. According to criminal complaints, Justin Ross shot Herron with a .45 caliber revolver, causing his death, while Donovan Ross shot a .22-caliber revolver at Herron with the intent to kill him.

Multiple witnesses placed the pair at the scene of the shooting, according to a search warrant.

POSTVILLE — Community members say life may never be back to “normal,” but five years later storefronts are filling up, the school population is on the rise and the new faces in town reflect the ever-changing, diverse population that is Postville.

That diversity wasn’t obvious walking down the main street on a cold and rainy day last month as few residents were outside, but stepping inside a new convenience store starts to tell a story.

• Interactive timeline: Key moments in Agriprocessors raid and aftermath

Apdullahi Hassan, a Somali man, is behind the counter. He speaks little English but flashes a big smile when his photo is taken and proudly says “I’m owner.” The store offers unique food and clothing items.

Hassan previously worked at Agri Star Meat and Poultry. He is just one of hundreds of Somalians who now reside in the rural community.

Other ethnic stores also have opened within the last two years to fill up vacant downtown spaces and meet the needs of the diverse residents, like a Hispanic grocery store that closed after the 2008 Agriprocessors immigration raid and is now reopened.

Others include a Jewish market, an African clothing store, a vintage clothing store and the Mexican restaurant. A chain retail store, Dollar General, also opened and a new law firm moved into downtown within the last year.

Mayor Leigh Rekow, who was elected a year after the devastating raid, said the community never looked back, and the residents who remained were determined to overcome the tremendous losses.

“We have progressive people and a progressive city council,” Rekow said leaning back in his office chair. “There’s no animosity. We’re here to stay.”

Looking ahead

Apdullahi Hassan poses for a portrait in his convenience store in Postville on April 18, 2013. Since the 2008 Agriprocessors raid, a population of Somalians has moved into the area. (Kaitlyn Bernauer/The Gazette)

Rekow doesn’t deny the last five years have been tough, but he prefers to focus on the future. What’s lies ahead, not behind, seems to be his philosophy. He touts the population of 2,227, which was about 2,300 before the raid.

The community lost at least 389 residents from Mexico and Guatemala, both those who were arrested in the raid and their families, and a large percentage of the Jewish residents, but slowly over the years some Hispanic and Guatemalans have come back, along with a new influx of Somalis.

Rekow and community leaders in town said things seem to be going well at Agri Star. They estimate the plant has about 60 percent to 70 percent of the pre-raid workforce — about 700 employees.

Agri Star officials didn’t return phone messages asking for comment on this article.

Nobody seems to have an exact number of the Somali population but Candy Seibert, owner of Tidy Wave Property Management, was told by one of her tenants last month there are about 300 Somalis in town. She has about 30 units rented to Somalis and most of them, if not all, have more than one occupant, which isn’t unusual for their culture.

Seibert also rents a space to some Somalis for their mosque. It doesn’t look like a traditional place of worship because it’s in a store front on Lawler Street without signage. Inside, there are no ornate fixtures or decor, only rugs on the floor and the smell of incense.

Housing changes

Seibert took over the majority of the rental property in town after other landlords gave up after the raid. She owns about 50 apartments and houses and also manages others’ properties.

“They (Somalis) seem to want to be part of the community but they are transient people,” Seibert said last month sitting at her office desk which was overflowing with paperwork. “They will move for a better job. Most of them moved here from Minnesota and still go there on weekends for family or to shop. They can’t get everything (food or spices) they need here.”

Seibert said there are some cultural differences but no real problems.

“It’s more little things or funny things like I had to tell them they couldn’t keep chickens in the basement or warn them about leaving burning incense,” Seibert said laughing. “What’s weird is when you hear Somalis speaking Spanish or Latinos speaking in Somali (language). I’ve heard that. I guess they have learned from each other.”

Police Chief Michael Halse said there hasn’t been an increase in crime or problems with the new residents. They are familiar with the laws because most moved here from the Minneapolis area, he said.

There haven’t been any serious incidents since that year after the raid, when Agriprocessors was bussing in temporary workers to help keep the plant operating, Halse said. The transient workers would get rowdy in town after getting off their shifts.

Melting pot

John Rothlisberger, interim superintendent of Postville Community School District, said Postville continues to be a unique melting pot of rural America. What may be viewed in other areas of the country as the “minority” may now be the majority in Postville.

There are 596 students enrolled this year, with a student breakdown of 291 Hispanic, 45 African-American and Somali and 260 white, with a small number of those being Asian.

The enrollment has slowly increased over the last five years and isn’t too far behind the 2008 enrollment of 604.

Rothlisberger, a retired school administrator who came out of retirement to serve as interim superintendent, said he has learned so much this year.

He anticipated inner-city school issues because of the different cultures, but it’s the opposite. Some of the students might be dressed differently, like the Somali girls who wear the “beautiful” traditional gowns, even during physical education, but they get along with everybody and most of the students share something in common — they come from non-English speaking homes.

“Language is still the challenge,” Rothlisberger said. “We are always struggling to get enough translators and teachers, but many of the kids help out. They are some of the best facilitators. We also get help from the community college. And we always get requests from the parents to help them learn English.”

Aaron Goldsmith, a former council member and owner of Transfer Master Products, said the Jewish population in the area is 30 percent to 45 percent less today, but some are still employed at the plant and there are still two synagogues in town and the two Jewish schools are “thriving.”

Goldsmith also pointed out some new churches have moved into the area because of the new diversity.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Pastor Steve Brackett said at least two non-denomination or independent churches have opened to meet the needs of the Guatemalans and Hispanics who may be interested in a different style of worship. Some of the churches where the Guatemalans attended closed down after the raid when many were deported.

Goldsmith said it’s all part of the rebuilding process as Postville forms a new life.

“I tell people to look at it like a forest fire — it’s a major horror but now there’s a rebirth.”

Rosa Zamora (from left) sits with her daughter, Ilvana Loyes, 6, her husband, Fermin Loyes, and her other daughter, Merlin Loyes, 10, in their home in Postville on April 18, 2013. Fermin was deported in the 2008 Agriprocessors immigration raid, but the family is now reunited and living in Postville. (Kaitlyn Bernauer/The Gazette)

Consuelo Vega Nava looks down at her shifting feet, saying it was difficult to go back to that time in 2008 when she made the decision to tell immigration authorities that she didn’t have any children.

The only reason she denied having three children is because she feared immigration would deport them, along with her, back to Mexico.

“I was sad … had mixed emotions,” Vega Nava said in Spanish as her son, Pedro Arturo Lopez Vega, 18, interpreted for her. “I was happy they were going to be safe, but sad. I didn’t want to go … to leave them.”

It has been five years, but she will never forget the day ICE raided Agriprocessors in Postville and arrested her, along with 389 others, on May 12, 2008. She repeatedly denied having children, as others broke down and admitted, but she thought she was protecting her son and two daughters.

Unfortunately, the denial led to her deportation because most of the female workers with children were allowed to stay in the country and wear electronic ankle monitors, instead of being held in jail.

Sent to prison

“I knew about being deported, but I never thought prison … would happen,” Vega Nava said in her soft voice, shaking her head.

Vega Nava was one of the 389 others who were arrested for working illegally with false identification documents, sentenced to six months in prison and then deported.

Vega Nava spent most of her prison time at the Hardin County Jail in Eldora, but for two long weeks she and others arrested in the raid for non-violent offenses were housed at the medium-security Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas.

“My cellmate was a murderer,” Vega Nava said in a more excited voice. “I was scared all the time. Others from our (immigration) group were there and we would shower together, take turns watching out for each other when we showered.”

She was eventually sent to another jail in Tallahassee, Fla., to complete her sentence before being deported, which was better because she was allowed to work outside and even attended church services and study groups at the jail.

“Back in Mexico, I was happy to be out of prison but sad because I wanted to go back someday with my family … not alone and empty-handed,” Vega Nava said, tearing up.

Husband deported

While Vega Nava was denying motherhood, one of her co-workers, Rosa Zamora, was told by authorities to tell the truth — give her real name and admit she had two daughters, and nothing would happen. She was released with an electronic ankle monitor and allowed to stay in the country with daughters Merlin, 5, and Ilvana, 1. But her husband, Fermin Loyes, was arrested and deported back to Guatemala. They didn’t see him for nearly three years.

“The first few months, I felt desperate because I didn’t have a job, and I felt really alone,” said Zamora, a petite Guatemalan woman with diminutive features, who spoke through an interpreter. “What was I going to do, you know, for money and the girls’ clothes.”

Zamora grew sad at times talking about the raid and her husband, but she also smiled and laughed, especially when Ilvana, now 6, leaned against her and Merlin, 10, crouched behind her on a small sofa.

The separation was tough on them all. Merlin would cry at the dinner table and say she needed her father, which would make Zamora cry. They talked to him on the phone while he served his six months prison term in Iowa and Louisiana, but then he was deported and they didn’t see him until 2010.

“I didn’t think we were criminals,” Zamora said. “I think that way because we hadn’t killed anyone, we hadn’t done anything except carry papers that were bad.”

Zamora said if it hadn’t been for financial support and food from some kind people in Decorah and the church, she couldn’t have fed her children and kept a place to live.

Vega Nava said the same was true for her family. Some of her children’s teachers brought them food, and the community and church helped them.

Back in Postville

Both Zamora and Vega Nava are back working similar meatpacking jobs at Agri Star Meat and Poultry. They both took other odd jobs before the plant reopened, but they had to go back because their options are limited in Postville, and they needed a stable living to support their families.

Both women declined to talk in much detail about Agri Star, but agreed the working conditions and the environment are better today over the old plant.

Zamora said she isn’t afraid to speak up now if something is wrong because now she knows her rights. In 2010, Zamora received a U-Visa, which are granted to victims of violence, and it allowed her to bring home her husband from Guatemala, and he also can work in this country. Loyes works at a construction company in Postville.

Vega Nava was able to come back from Mexico and work because her family remained in this country. Her husband and son also have work visas.

Her son, Lopez Vega, a senior at Postville High School, started working at local grocery store this year. He admitted it was tough losing his mom at age 13 for a year, but he understands that it was for his protection.

Lopez Vega, still wearing his soccer clothing from practice, was smiling and happy last month as he talked about picking up his tux and planning to borrow a car for his first prom, but he became serious when he recalled the day of the raid.

“I remember it clearly. I was sitting in social studies class and we heard the helicopters flying over. My teacher said it might be the National Guard … but we knew what was happening.”

Lopez Vega said he realizes the sacrifice his mother made and wants to make her proud. He plans on going to the University of Iowa to study political science.

Vega Nava said her son’s opportunity for a better life is why she and her husband came to America. She never regrets what she went through for that dream.

Federal agents escort Sholom Rubashkin, former manager of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, into federal court for his initial appearance in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008. Rubashkin was convicted on federal financial fraud charges and is serving 27 years in prison, but he was acquitted on charges related to child labor laws in state court. (The Gazette)

The immigration process is slow-moving, as immigration attorney Sonia Parras Konrad knows all too well, but she hopes reform is the next chapter in the aftermath of the 2008 Agriprocessors immigration raid.

Sonia Parras Konrad

Parras Konrad, a Des Moines attorney, has represented more than 200 former Agriprocessors workers of 389 who were arrested. After five years and 40 former workers, she is just finishing up the last family of six who received U-Visas in connection with the raid.

U-Visas were given to workers who were victims of violence and abuse at Agriprocessors, which allowed them to stay in the United States and work for four years, Parras Konrad said.

In the third year, they are eligible to apply for a green card. She wouldn’t talk about any specific case or person, but said the affidavits taken in the Agriprocessors’ cases showed adult and children workers were emotionally, verbally and physically abused and assaulted.

Former Agriprocessors Vice President Sholom Rubashkin was convicted on federal financial fraud charges and is serving 27 years in prison, but he was acquitted on charges related to child labor laws in state court.

According to the court documents, the workers admitted in the plea agreements to breaking the law by using false documents to gain work in this country. Many arrested were deported and some spent six months in prison before being deported.

“There were so many victims of crime — I couldn’t get to all of them,” Parras Konrad said. “This was a nationwide effort. There were over 100 volunteers — lawyers, paralegals and others. I didn’t charge anyone. I only asked for donations to pay for faxes, copying and mailing fees.”

Rosa Zamora, a Guatemalan woman who received a U-Visa, said “God sent Sonia” to her.

“She wouldn’t let me pay her,” Zamora said. “She said if she won, then pay her when I got a job. She never asked for money.”

Parras Konrad helped her get a U-Visa, which also allowed her to bring husband Fermin Loyes back from Guatemala after being deported. He served a six-month prison term before being deported and the couple was separated for three years.

Time for reform

Parras Konrad said she has “high hopes” this will be the year for comprehensive immigration reform. After five years of working on the Agriprocessors’ cases, she is tired but excited about the possibilities for the people who get to stay in this country and gain legal status.

“Kids have reunited with their parents and are taking advantage of what the country has to offer for their future,” Parras Konrad said. “It’s also satisfying to see the kids (minors) who worked at the plant, who were abused, to overcome that and they are getting an education.”

Pastor Steve Brackett, of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Postville, said he also has hopes but feels frustrated by the political discussions about immigration.

“The answer lies with better policies and law,” Brackett said. “There’s so much politics in it all. There’s such gridlock. Can you get difficult things done now? It takes a lot of energy to compromise. I don’t know if reform will look like what you want it to.”

Campus Pastor David Vasquez of Luther College in Decorah, said advocates for reform will have to “stay vocal and active. The challenge is apathy.”

Vasquez provided advocacy after the raid and helped coordinate local response, along with other volunteers in the community, and also helped maintain a database of detainees because there wasn’t an official list to inform their families.

Hosam Amara, indicted in the Agriprocessors' case.

Former Agriprocessors manager Hosam Amara pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court to 27 charges involving illegal immigration, after fighting extradition from Israel for two years.

Amara, 48,was first indicted Nov. 20, 2008, and additional charges followed in 2009 stemming from the 2008 Agriprocessors immigration raid but he hasn’t been prosecuted because he fled the country after being charged. He was then arrested by Israeli authorities March 31, 2011, and after appealing extradition to the Israeli Supreme Court he was extradited back to Iowa after the appeal was denied in March.

Amara, appearing in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, pleaded not guilty Friday to one count  of conspiracy to harbor undocumented workers for profit, 24 counts of harboring and aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented workers for profit, one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud and one count of aiding and abetting document fraud.

U.S. Magistrate Jon Scoles appointed Steven Drahozal, a Dubuque attorney, as counsel to Amara.

U.S. Assistant Attorney Peter Deegan asked the court to detain Amara pending trial based on the fact that he had been a fugitive since being indicted in 2008. Deegan also asked the court to allow the U.S. Marshal’s Office to transfer two passports Amara had in his possession to the probation office.

Scoles said the passports would go to the probation office.

Drahozal said Amara wouldn’t ask for a detention hearing at this time.

If convicted, Amara faces up to 265 years in prison. The harboring undocumented workers and document fraud charge each carry up to 10 years in prison and the conspiracy to commit document fraud carries up to five years in prison.

The criminal cases of Amara and another former Agriprocessors manager, Zeev Levi, who also fled to Israel after being charged, are the last two to be resolved in connection with the raid. Levi remains a fugitive.

A jury in November 2009 convicted former Agriprocessors vice president Sholom Rubashkin, 52, of 86 counts of bank, mail and wire fraud, money laundering and failure to pay livestock providers in a timely manner.

There also were several supervisors and managers charged and convicted, and 389 workers were convicted and many deported in connection with the raid.

Armando Ramiro Garcia-Arenales, 30, of Waterloo, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after deportation by an aggravated felon and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon and illegal immigrant, according to court documents.

According to evidence, Garcia-Arenales was arrested following a traffic stop March 1, by Waterloo Police officers. A search was conducted of his car and numerous rounds of 9 mm ammunition were recovered. Garcia-Arenales had previously been convicted in 2005 in Clayton County, of felony offenses of delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined that Garcia-Arenales had previously been deported in October 2008 and had not received permission to reenter the United States. Garcia-Arenales had been arrested in May 2008 immigration raid at Agriprocessors in Postville. He was convicted of using of a fraudulent identification registration card and deported.

Sentencing hasn’t been set. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the illegal reentry charge and 10 years on the ammunition charge.

Curtis A. Miller, 33, waived his 90-day right to speedy trial Friday and pleaded not guilty to the amended and substituted charges of child endangerment resulting in death and involuntary manslaughter. The charges were amended for the new trial because Miller was originally charged with first-degree murder but a jury in 2008 convicted him on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

If convicted, Miller faces up to 50 years in prison.

Miller’s appealed his conviction based on “jury separation and juror substitution” during deliberations. Following his three-week trial, and after two days of deliberations, the court allowed a juror to leave for a family funeral.

Miller asked the court twice for a mistrial because the juror started deliberations but then left and one of the alternates took his place.

The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled the court should have granted Miller’s motions for mistrial because the court allowed the juror to leave deliberations and couldn’t determine when deliberations would resume.

Todd Weimer, Miller’s attorney, argued Friday that Miller has the right to a bond review because involuntary manslaughter is a lesser charge than first-degree murder. Miller’s bond is set at $1 million cash, which is unreasonable for the lesser charge, Weimer said.

First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks argued Miller still faces serious charges and he could be a flight risk. Miller had a bond review by another judge before his first trial and he is only allowed one bond review, according to law, he said.

The defense also asked the court to allow an attorney, Tyler Johnston, to represent Miller, who was previously removed from the case because of a conflict. Johnston also represented a witness in this case on another matter.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Douglas Russell said he would take the bond review and conflict issue under advisement.

Miller’s daughter Kimisha died Oct. 11, 2007, from rotational-inflicted head trauma, according to trial testimony. About 19 medical doctors testified that Kimisha had suffered a skull fracture, extensive retinal hemorrhaging, subdural hemorrhaging of the brain, wrist fractures and bruising to her forehead and right cheek. The doctors testified the injuries were the classic remnants of child abuse.

The defense maintained that Kimisha could have sustained those injuries by falling off a bed. Miller’s attorneys claimed the injuries resulted when the child fell off a bed two weeks before she was hospitalized on Sept. 20, 2007.

Defense attorneys also argued investigators had not thoroughly investigated another man who was in the house at the time, whom they claimed caused the child’s injuries.

Jane Kelly. (Gazette file photo)

Assistant Federal Public Defender Jane Kelly was confirmed Wednesday by the U.S. Senate as an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals judge.

The Senate voted 96-0 to confirm Kelly as only the second woman, and the first public defender, to serve in the history of the court that was established in 1891.

No one opposed Kelly’s nomination, which moved through the process fairly quickly with joint support of both Iowa Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley.

“Ms. Kelly’s nomination moved so quickly as a result of the support of my senior colleague from Iowa, Sen. Grassley,” Harkin said in a statement after the vote. “I thank him for his invaluable support and assistance.  For many years, Sen. Grassley and I have cooperated in a spirit of goodwill on judicial nominations in our state, and I am grateful that this tradition has continued.  I would also be remiss if I did not thank Sen. Leahy and his staff for their hard work in advancing Ms. Kelly’s nomination in such a timely manner.”

On the Senate floor, Harkin said Kelly possessed all the qualifications of an appellate judge, and he recommended her to the president because her intellect and character stood out.

“She is a credit to all of us who have chosen public service,” Harkin said. “She has served as a public defender for more than 20 years. She could have worked for any private firm but she chose public service.”

Harkin said it seemed appropriate this year that Kelly was nominated in light of the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark case that required states to provide legal counsel to those who cannot afford to pay for an attorney.

On the Senate floor, Grassley said Kelly was committed to upholding the Constitution and has the unanimous rating from the American Bar Association of being a qualified judicial nominee. He cited 8th Circuit Senior Judge David Hansen, who said Kelly was “a forthright woman with high integrity.”

The Iowa Fair Courts Coalition said in a statement that Kelly’s experience as a public defender and her perspective as a woman will bring valuable diversity to the bench to benefit all people.

The coalition in the statement also said while it applauds this progress, there remains qualified judges being held up in the Senate and asked senators to “stand up for justice, end obstruction for obstruction’s sake, and swiftly confirm qualified judicial nominees, including those nominated to fill vacancies on the D.C. Circuit Court.”

The Iowa Fair Courts Coalition includes: One Iowa, Americans for Democratic Action, Working Families Win, the Iowa Citizen Action Network, and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Kelly didn’t return a phone message left after her confirmation.

During a February interview with The Gazette, several of Kelly’s colleagues and friends also voiced their support for her, saying her demeanor and sense of fairness would make her an ideal appeals judge.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose said that Kelly had a great blend of “personality,  skills and common sense to make a great lawyer and a judge.”

In the same interview, 6th Judicial District Associate Judge Casey Jones said Kelly had been a mentor to him and “is one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever met.”

University of Richmond School of Law Professor Carl Tobias, a judiciary analyst, said Kelly’s confirmation process was the quickest of Obama’s 45 appellate nominees.

“I think that it went so smoothly because she was a well qualified consensus nominee and the two Iowa senators worked cooperatively to have her nominated and confirmed,” Tobias, of Richmond, Va., said after the confirmation. “Her appointment is a great example of how well the process can work when senators cooperate and the nominee is excellent.”

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved Kelly last month by a bipartisan voice vote after Kelly was formally nominated by President Obama Jan. 31.

Kelly has been an assistant public defender in the Northern District since 1994 and supervising attorney in the Cedar Rapids office since 1999. She received her bachelor’s degree 1987 from Duke University and her law degree in 1991 from Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, Kelly clerked for U.S. District Judge Donald J. Porter of South Dakota and also clerked for Hansen.

Ledale Lanehart, 24, didn’t avoid his sentencing too long. The hearing was reset and he was sentenced to 15 years Wednesday in Linn County District Court for his part in the Guaranty bank robbery last September. Lanehart was originally charged with second-degree robbery and in March he pleaded guilty to lesser charges of first-degree theft and extortion.

Lanehart admitted during the sentencing he was on the way to the courthouse Monday when police stopped him.

Lanehart also had his probation revoked from a previous 2011 theft case because of the robbery conviction, so he was also sentenced Wednesday to five years on that charge and the judge ran it concurrent to the 15 years.

According to the criminal complaints, two co-defendants, Daniel Straw, 23, and Kevin Conner,18, admitted to helping Lanehart, who was “casing” locations for a robbery. They initially considered U.S. Bank on Mt. Vernon Road SE, but decided the conditions “were not right.” The three then drove to a secluded area and parked near Guaranty Bank, 191 Jacolyn Dr. SW. Connor and Straw told police they waited in the car while Lanehart went inside, presented a “hold up” note and robbed the bank.

Connor and Straw told police they moved the car to a better position while Lanehart was inside and then both ran from the scene, leaving the car when they saw police cars in the area, according to the complaints. The two men were captured by police after a foot chase.

Lanehart also left on foot and was arrested and charged later.

Connor and Straw both pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, according to court records. Straw received a suspended sentence of 10 years in prison and received five years probation and will be placed in a residential facility for one year. Connor received a deferred sentence and three years probation.

All three men were ordered to pay joint restitution of $3,000 to the bank. The joint restitution requires each man to pay $3,000 and if one doesn’t pay the others are responsible.

Police respond to an armed robbery report at the Kwik Shop at the intersection of 42nd Street and Center Point Road NE early Monday morning. (image taken from KCRG-TV9 video)

A Cedar Rapids man was charged Tuesday in Linn County District Court with five different convenience store robberies committed within four hours Monday, which was his birthday.

Rayshawn Cribbs, 24, had an initial appearance Tuesday and was charged with five counts of second-degree robbery. He is accused of displaying a replica BB gun while robbing three Casey’s General stores, a Kum and Go and a Kwik Shop in Cedar Rapids, according to a criminal complaint. Cash, cigarettes and two bottles of alcohol were taken from the stores, and cash was taken from two individuals at one of the stores.

Sixth Judicial Associate District Judge Jane Spande set a $10,000 cash bond on each charge for a total of $50,000.

In a separate incident, he was also charged and pleaded guilty during his appearance to fifth-degree theft. He admitted to taking a bottle of vodka, a bottle of orange juice and a container of plastic cups April 15, from Wal-Mart, 3601 29th Ave. SW. The judge sentenced him to five days in jail, which must be served before he can post bond in the robbery cases.

According to a criminal complaint, there is surveillance video of Cribbs committing the robberies at the five convenience stores in a four hour time frame from 2:30 to 6:50 p.m. Monday. In all five robberies, he is dressed the same and displayed an “authentic looking” handgun. Cribbs was arrested by an officer after a short foot chase following the last robbery at the Kwik Shop. The officer recovered the stolen items and the BB gun from  Cribbs.

Rayshawn Cribbs

Police said Monday there also was another robbery during the same time frame at Hometown Inn and Suites, 3315 Southgate Ct. SW, but Cribbs hasn’t been charged in that robbery. In the hotel robbery, a black man with a bandana over his face took undisclosed amount of money and left in an unknown direction. No gun was displayed in the robbery.

Cribbs’ preliminary hearing is set for May 3, but the hearing will be cancelled if the Linn County Attorney’s Office files trial information by that date.

Luis Trejos, 45, who recently lived in Newnan, Ga., was sentenced in U.S. District Court to two years in prison after pleading guilty in December 2012 to one count of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants and one count of money laundering.

According to evidence presented in the case, Trejos had worked as a roofing contractor for several years in various communities across the country under various company names. In March 2012, Trejos agreed to perform roofing work for an Eastern Iowa Construction in Cedar Rapids and arranged for workers to come to work for him in Iowa.These roofing workers were not legally authorized to work or live in the United States, according to court records.

Trejos also hired other workers in Iowa who were not authorized to work in the United States, according to court records. He admitted to knowing that he violated the law and that he didn’t take any action to verify the legal status of the workers. Trejos also performed similar work for a Kentucky company in 2012. 

During the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Linda Reade noted the broad scope of Trejos’s conduct and the role he played in organizing and managing the criminal activity.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved Kelly last month by a bipartisan voice vote. If confirmed next week, Kelly will become only the second woman to serve in the history of the appeals court and the first public defender to serve on the bench since 1891. Pres. Obama has appointed 100 former prosecutors to the federal bench.

Harkin recommended Kelly, a public defender since 1994 with the Northern District of Iowa, in late 2012 to Pres. Obama to replace now retired Judge Michael Melloy. Kelly was formally nominated by the President Jan. 31.

Kelly’s nomination has moved more quickly through the process than other Pres. Obama’s judicial nominees. Sen. Chuck Grassley told Senate Democrats on Thursday to “Quit crying,” in regards to their criticism over judicial nominees getting “slow-walked” in the Senate just before two of Obama’s federal district judge nominees, Analisa Torres and Derrick Kahala Watson, were confirmed. Grassley said he was “tired of these crocodile tears being shed.”

Kenneth Haag, 27, pleaded guilty in January to one count of using a telephone to transmit an interstate communication threatening to injure another person in U.S. District Court.

According to a plea agreement, Haag admitted he called the Allamakee Sheriff’s office Nov. 9, 2011 and threatened to kill a deputy. He threatened to kill the deputy more than once in the same phone call. Haag was in Chicago at the time the communications were made.

Haag also sent hundreds of faxes, e-mails and made other telephone calls between November 2011 and January 2012 to the sheriff’s office, clerk of court and judges, according to court documents. In several of the communications, Haag made threats to injure or kill county officials or judges. Haag said he was frustrated with what he called his prior mistreatment by the courts, law enforcement and others. He admitted his statements could have been considered threatening.

U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade during sentencing said Haag’s threats were “particularly frightening” and not simply a “nuisance.” The hundreds of communications he made were “goal-directed” as Haag referred to his prior wrongful criminal convictions, she said.

According to evidence presented at the hearing, many of Haag’s communications were directed at judges, officers or to the victim involved in his 2004 Allamakee County case where he pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and assault on a peace officer.

Reade also ordered that Haag must also participate in mental health counseling or treatment, complete a program for substance abuse treatment and can have no direct or indirect contact with his victims while on three years of supervised release after serving his prison time.

Jeffrey, 48, and Roxena, 40, Schoon, formerly of Wall Lake, pleaded guilty in December in the U.S. District Southern Court for robbing four banks in 2011 and 2012.

Jeffrey Schoon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank robberies, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and four count of bank robbery. He was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Roxena Schoon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank robberies. She was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

According to the plea agreement and sentencing hearings, the Schoons robbed four banks within 20 miles of their Wall Lake home. On Dec. 29, 2011, they robbed the Iowa State Bank in Odebolt; on Jan. 11, 2012, they robbed the Citizens 1st National Bank in Early; Jan. 28, 2012, they robbed the Westside State Bank in Vail; and on March 23, 2012, they robbed the Heritage Bank in Lytton.

Jeffrey Schoon entered each bank, while Roxena waited outside as the getaway driver, according to court records. The couple also possessed a .38 revolver and ammunition for the firearm and during the conspiracy the couple appeared to possess a Molotov cocktail during the Vail robbery, and a second handgun during the Odebolt robbery. These weapons were never recovered. 

According to a search warrant conducted at the couple’s home on March 29, 2012, officers recovered a blue bag, gloves, a hoodie, masks, sunglasses, and blue jeans consistent with those used in the robberies, a $20.00 bill from one of the victim banks, a .22 caliber rifle, a .38 revolver and ammunition for the firearms.

The Schoons were also ordered to pay $32,825 in restitution. 

Steven Hotz and Benjamin Smith. (images via Linn County Sheriff's Office)

Two Central City men were charged Tuesday with first-degree arson for an apartment fire last October which investigators say started when the two men attempted to manufacture methamphetamine.

Benjamin J. Smith, 24, and Steven M. Hotz, 31, are charged with first-degree arson, manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a minor, possession with intent to manufacture/deliver controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance (marijuana) and drug tax stamp violation.

Both men were arrested on a warrant and are currently in jail. Smith’s bond was set at $50,000 cash and Hotz’s bond is $90,000 cash or surety.

A joint investigation by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and the State Fire Marshal’s office determined the fire started in Hotz’s residence at 60 N. 8^th St., #2, in Central City, Oct.19, 2012, and was the result of manufacturing methamphetamine.

Hotz was burned in the blaze and hospitalized for burns to his body, according to a sheriff’s report.

According to a criminal complaint, Hotz and Smith were seen fleeing the duplex where others, including children, lived. Investigators found materials and devices used to make methamphetamine and more than 42.5 grams of marijuana that was intended for delivery.

A bench trial or non-jury trial is set May 22 for Ahlers, 20, of Manchester, charged with two counts of aiding and abetting in first-degree murder. He is accused of suggesting to his friend, Isaiah Sweet, different ways to kill the couple.

According to a search warrant, Isaiah Sweet admitted to shooting his grandparents after contemplating beating his grandfather with a baseball bat.

Christopher Knouse

A former Meskwaki police chief pleaded guilty last month to transferring firearms to another without a permit and received a deferred judgment.

Christopher Knouse, 46, made an Alford plea to non-felonious misconduct in office March 28 in Tama County District Court. He was given a deferred judgment and placed on self-supervised probation for one year. According to court records, Knouse transferred a firearm to another person without the appropriate paperwork in December 2012.

The other charges Knouse originally faced — fifth-degree theft and pistol or revolver acquisition without a permit — were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Knouse was also ordered to pay $315 in civil penalty and victim restitution, if required. The Tama County Attorney has 30 days to file restitution.

Mark Brown, Knouse’s attorney, said another lawyer would handle an administration hearing to determine if Knouse can retain his law enforcement certification.

Robert Watkins

The second teen who received probation for a robbery that led to an assault of Cedar Rapids police officer in 2009 could face a 25-year prison sentence if he’s convicted on a new charge and his probation is revoked.

Robert Watkins, 18, was charged last month for driving under a suspended license, according to court records. Watkins has been on probation for less than a year after receiving a suspended sentence for first-degree robbery and interference with official acts causing serious injury. Watkins, who was 17 at the time, robbed two men in March 2009, and officer Tim Davis was seriously injured when he responded to the incident by another teen, Jose Rockiett, now 21, who was with Watkins.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden filed an application last week to revoke Watkins’ probation based on the new charge and another violation of missing an appointment with his probation officer.

A hearing on the revocation is set April 26, but any action will likely be delayed until the new charge is resolved.

Another teen charged in the robbery, Maurice Harden, 18, violated his probation last November by racking up six violations, but the judge found him in contempt and ordered him to serve 180 days in jail, instead of revoking his probation.

Rockiett was convicted in 2010 of first-degree robbery, willful injury causing serious injury and interference with official acts causing serious injury and/or while displaying a dangerous weapon. He is serving a 25-year prison term. Rockiett hit Davis in the head with the butt of a BB-gun and it took many months for Davis to recover from the serious brain injury.

Shaheed Pendleton.

A man convicted by a Linn County jury in February for stabbing his ex-girlfriend 16 times was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday.

Shaheed Pendleton, 33, of Cedar Rapids, was found guilty of willful injury causing serious injury, assault with intent to inflict serious injury and assault while displaying a dangerous weapon (domestic abuse). Possible prison time was 12 years, but count one and two were merged and the two assault counts were run concurrently for a total of 10 years.

Pendleton declined to speak before the judge sentenced him, and no victim’s impact statements were made.

Sixth Judicial District Chief Judge Patrick Grady also suspended Pendleton’s $10,000 fine, so he could pay victim’s restitution, which will be determined later. He also granted a five year no contact for the victim and ordered Pendleton to attend a batterer’s education program while in prison.

According to trial testimony, Pendleton stabbed Racquel Truax, 30, formerly of Cedar Rapids, 16 times in her head, chest, abdomen, both sides, arms and back during an argument while both had been drinking and using drugs Oct. 14, 2011. Doctors during the trial testified Truax was lucky to be alive. She lost a large amount of blood, and one of the wounds resulted in a life threatening injury to her aorta and main vein near her chest.

Truax told the jury she and Pendleton had broken up several months before the incident but they shared a home and had two children together. Truax said Pendleton was angry with her that day and was jealous when she invited two men over. She said Pendleton came at her with his arms swinging and she initially thought he was going to hit her. It all happened quickly and she didn’t realize until she looked down and saw blood drops on the floor that he had stabbed her.

Pendleton took the stand and said he didn’t stab her. He claimed an unknown man was in the house arguing with Truax when he awoke from a nap. The man cut him when he tried to intervene and then stabbed her.

Pendleton had three minor wounds to his chest, but police never determined who inflicted the injuries.

Chicchelly also said she couldn’t promise to give defendants what they might request, but they would know “they were heard” and that “their day in court meant something.” She lived her dream of becoming a lawyer like her father and working with her brothers, but in the last few years she felt another call to service and now looks forward to her new role.

Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Chicchelly, 45, of Cedar Rapids, in February, as the fifth female district judge on the bench, which provides some balance with the seven male judges. She replaces Judge Denver Dillard who retired last year and who recently took senior status.

Her two daughters, Sarah and Hannah, helped their mother with her robe after being sworn in during the standing room only ceremony, which included many family members, colleagues and friends. Her brothers and former partners of Seidl and Chicchelly, Phil and Mark Seidl, her father Gerald Seidl and Second Judicial District Judge Stephen Carroll introduced her, gave her advice and a little ribbing while congratulating her.

Carroll said when he and another judge went to law schools looking for a law clerk in 1992 the “room got brighter” when Chicchelly entered.

“She was direct, had a sense of humor, common sense and had a first-class legal mind,” Carroll. “And she also played well with others at the courthouse, which was important.”

Mark Seidl said while he knows his sister will make an “excellent public servant” and he’s happy for her new career, he would be sad that he won’t “see that sunshine coming through the door” every day at their office.

“I’m really proud of you for taking the challenge,” Phil Seidl said. “You have a passion for what is right.”

Chicchelly had been a family law attorney with Seidl and Chicchelly for about 15 years prior to being appointed as a judge.  She received her bachelor’s degree in 1989 from the University of Iowa and her law degree in 1992 from the University of Iowa College of Law. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Iowa State Bar Association and the Linn County Bar Association.

Kevin Maurice Jones, of unknown address, made an initial appearance Thursday in Linn County District Court and was charged with attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary, according to a criminal complaint. Jones and three others are accused of shooting Joshua Spears, 36, causing serious injury, while participating in a robbery.

Marijuana was stolen from 720 1/2 4th Ave. SE, during the armed robbery, according to a criminal complaint.

Robert Cole, 23, Cedric Lang, 17, and Keanan Mercer, 17, were also charged with attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in this incident.

On Jan. 3, police responded to the apartment and found Spears with a gunshot wound to his left arm. Officers said several men entered the apartment through an unlocked door, a rifle was displayed, words were exchanged and Spears was shot.

Police said last week they are “actively searching” for Alonzo Stokes, 21, who also is connected to the shooting. Stokes is wanted for attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary charges.

The case remains under investigation.

Richard A. Wessels, 58, of Marion, filed written plea of guilty to invasion of privacy – nudity, a serious misdemeanor. Wessels  placed a video camera in the bathroom of his business, The Rut Bar and Grill at 6913 Mt. Vernon Road in April 2011.

According to a police report, the videotape recovered from the business included footage of an adult victim in partial nudity or full nudity, taken without their knowledge or consent. There was only one known victim. Wessels was arrested and charged in September 2012.

Sentencing is set May 16 in Linn County Associate District Court. Wessels faces up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,875.

The Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa Medical Pavilion, 202 10th Street SE, Cedar Rapids, will open for business April 15, 2013. Photographed on Monday, March 25, 2013, in Cedar Rapids. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

CEDAR RAPIDS — The doctors of the new Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa Medical Pavilion want patients to walk into their 221,000-square-foot space next month and feel like they are stepping into an open, mall-like environment, instead of a sterile medical building.

Dr. Thomas Richardson, urologist and president of PCI Medical Pavilion, said Monday during a tour with The Gazette that he hopes they have created a patient-centered, “one-stop shop” where patients can see more than one doctor if needed, complete lab work, have in-office procedures, get the results and pick up prescriptions — all in one building, one visit and with one co-pay.

“The goal is to provide quality and affordable care in a convenient setting,” Richardson said. “Patients can also go down to get coffee at Caribou Coffee (by entrance) while they wait, get a card at the pharmacy or walk the mall — like people do now in shopping malls. We want to promote wellness.”

The $47 million, privately funded project combines all five PCI offices — which includes more than 100 doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and therapists from PCI and from other health care tenants — in one building at 202 10th Street SE.

PCI, founded in 1997, is one of the largest, private, multi-specialty medical groups in Iowa. The pavilion will open April 15.

Multiple tenants

Other tenants in the building include Clark and Associates — orthotics and prosthetics, Helen G. Nassif Community Cancer Center of Iowa, Cardiologists, L.C., Envisions Spa and Cosmetic Surgery and St. Luke’s Breast and Bone Health.

Other amenities in the building are CarePro pharmacy and Caribou Coffee Cafe, both of which are open to the public; a Reflection Room for meditation or quiet wait room; Community Resource Center; and a community room for health screenings, classes and community events.

The state-of-the-art, three-story building has numerous windows to provide natural light, enhancing its transparent design, which makes the closure of Second Avenue SE look as if it just continues through the middle of the building.

Each of the medical offices has a different configuration of office space and exam rooms, with varying design schemes.

Evolving plans

The current site wasn’t the original choice for the building, according to PCI officials. The board of directors had planned to build in Hiawatha, but in 2008 after city and business leaders asked PCI to stay downtown, as part of the medical district, the project still had some challenges to overcome.

The board decided to go with the new concept of a “medical mall,” which offers a patient-focused design, but because of limited space in the downtown area the design had to be altered and the parking scaled down.

However, in 2010, the city offered PCI $13 million in Tax Increment Financing funds to cover additional costs between the original site in Hiawatha and the downtown site. The council also approved closing Second Avenue from 10th to 12th streets, so PCI would have the space to build its design.

It was approved, but some community members were against the project because historic buildings would be demolished to accommodate the building and a parking garage.

Dr. Robert Brimmer, a general surgeon and a PCI board member, said Monday he realizes there are still some community members who are disgruntled over the project but he thinks the benefits outweigh “the heat” they took over the street closure.

“This is a big deal for PCI and a big deal for Cedar Rapids,” said Brimmer, also a founding PCI board member. “We put over $40 million back into a flood-ravaged community. One of the biggest benefits is that this clinic brings together all the multispecialty groups and we can easily consult with each other on a patient. It will cost the patients less to see more than one doctor (in one visit).”

PCI won’t add to their staffs right away, but as they grow more jobs will be added, which will contribute to the city’s economy, Richardson said. The pavilion already created $16.2 million in construction employment and kept all the PCI jobs downtown. They estimate there will be 2,000 to 2,500 patients and visitors a day. There are two large vacant spaces for future tenants, and those spaces could be used for multiple tenants, depending on space needs.

Richardson said patient convenience and affordability were key to the plan. They made the decision to pursue the mall design, which was gaining traction across the nation with medical professionals, after much research and making site visits in Albany, N.Y., where several exist.

“I’m hoping once people come inside and see what we’ve done, they will understand that we needed the space,” Richardson said. “Each space is unique to the practices’ needs, and we also wanted to ensure each space provided privacy for the patients.”

Richardson also pointed out the windows in the spaces are positioned higher, so people walking by in the lobby can’t necessarily see patients inside. Other examples for privacy are larger spaces and even two private rooms for chemo infusion treatments. There also is a separate entrance for Envisions Spa, which handles cosmetic surgery, from the ear, nose and throat practice.

Richardson said another costs savings for patients are services like the in-house chemo treatments and imaging capabilities at the clinic, instead of going to a hospital, Richardson said. The clinic also has the latest CT machine, which has the lowest dose of radiation in Eastern Iowa.

Michelle Luty, PCI marketing and communications relations, said the machine also has features to help the patients relax during the procedure such as ambient lighting, music preferences and “destination” images, which transforms the room into another location.

Most of the medical and office equipment, furniture and artwork hadn’t been installed on Monday, but Luty said local artists’ work would be featured along the walls and there also will be rotating display that will change periodically.

The main art, two hanging sculptural pieces from the ceiling by the staircase titled “Baroque Garden,” had been installed. Susan Chrysler White, a University of Iowa associate professor, is the artist.

“Baroque Garden was designed to connect with the general theme of the interior design, a floating garden above the river structure alluded to in the serpentine design on the lower level,” White said.

Alan Lucas

A Cedar Rapids man charged for investment fraud rants, making disparaging and insulting remarks, Friday for about 20 minutes to a judge and attorneys while arguing Linn County District Court had no jurisdiction over his case because the limited partnership of companies he controlled were formed in Delaware.

Alan Lucas, 43, charged with ongoing criminal conduct, first-degree theft and money laundering, was in court because his third attorney, Mike Lahammer, asked to withdraw from his case because Lucas wouldn’t cooperate with him to prepare for his trial set April 15.

Lahammer told the court he had spent numerous hours talking to Lucas about the case and going through thousands of pages of discovery in the case but Lucas won’t go over the information because he insists this court has no jurisdiction over the case.

“That’s all he wants to talk about,” Lahammer told the judge.

Lahammer also said Lucas has been rude and cursed him and his staff many times.

Lucas tried to interrupt Lahammer, saying Lahammer hadn’t spent time on the case and had refused to file paper work to challenge the jurisdiction issue. Lucas then claimed Lahammer was speaking outside lawyer/client privilege.

Sixth  Judicial District Judge Nancy Baumgartner told Lucas, more than once, he couldn’t interrupt.

Lucas continued to say under Delaware law he has immunity and this is a civil matter, not a criminal case. The Delaware companies he’s referring to are Covenant Investment Fund and Covenant Asset Management. He also said Assistant Iowa Attorney General Rob Sand and the Attorney General’s Office has no authority to file charges because it’s not a criminal matter.

Lucas then starts lecturing the judge that his due process rights are being  violated by her and the court. He then claimed none of the lawyers had no expertise for his case and that he needed one who can handle more than “a petty theft or domestic abuse” case.

Baumgartner told him two other judges already ruled on the jurisdiction issue, saying the court was within it’s jurisdiction. She then attempted to get him back to the issue of this hearing, which is whether to allow Lahammer to withdraw.

Sand resisted the attorney change for Lucas, arguing Lucas has had three lawyers and claims he can’t be represented by them because they wouldn’t argue the jurisdiction issued. Sand said this case has been pending for two years and at some point it must go forward.

Baumgartner finally said she would take Lahammer’s withdrawal under advisement.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office won  a civil judgment for more than $1 million against Lucas and eight businesses he controlled in the fraud case in December.

Lucas was accused of engaging in a pattern of fraudulent conduct for the purpose of bilking investors out of more than $150,000 they believed they had invested with Noah Aulwes, 55, of Cedar Rapids.

According to court documents, Aulwes, who was as an associate of Lucas’s, operated Covenant Asset Management, and general partner and investment manager of Covenant Investment Fund. Aulwes  was sentenced in December for misappropriating about $200,000 of investors’ funds for his personal benefit and making Ponzi-type payments to other investors, along with about $90,000 of clients’ funds that were invested in the Philippines.

Aulwes began soliciting investments in 2007 from older residents of Iowa and North Carolina. Last August, Aulwes pleaded guilty to felony charges of securities fraud, first-degree theft and money laundering. He was sentenced in December to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $363,000 in victim restitution.

According to court records, Aulwes transferred control of the Covenant Investment Fund and its remaining assets of about $189,000 to Lucas in May 2010. Lucas also assumed a $60,000 debt owed by Aulwes to the fund, but investors were not informed of the loan.

Aulwes closed bank accounts for Covenant Investment Fund and Covenant Asset Management and transferred investor funds totaling about $189,000 into accounts controlled by Lucas, according to court documents. Within days, Lucas drew a $9,000 check from the Covenant Investment Fund account to cover overdue rent he owed on behalf of his company, Asherlee Management.

Lucas attended Aulwes’ sentencing in December and interrupted court, again with Baumgartner, saying he was victim like other investors in the courtroom and wanted to give a victim’s impact statement. Baumgartner immediately stopped him and advised him not to say anything because of his pending criminal case. Lucas finally left before sheriff’s deputies led him out.

Bobby Wolf, 31, pleaded guilty in November to first-degree criminal mischief, attempt to elude, second-degree theft, three counts of assault on a peace officer causing bodily injury and OWI, a second offense. Wolf admitted to intentionally ramming the police vehicles and to the other offenses. His first attempt to plead guilty to the charges was rejected by a judge because he didn’t admit his guilt but the judge accepted his plea a few weeks later.

Martin Wilkinson, 63, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. He is accused of shooting and killing  Gregory O’Hare, 47, of Cedar Rapids, Aug. 24, 2012. An Astra A-7 handgun found in his home was identified by police as the weapon used in the homicide, according to a criminal complaint.

According to an autopsy, O’Hare died of multiple gunshot. He was shot at least eight times, with five of those shots going into his back.

Wilkinson’s attorney asked the continuance, saying he needed more time to prepare for trial. Wilkinson also filed a motion to suppress evidence of 37 weapons recovered from his home during a police search and a statements made to police after the shooting. The weapons included various calibers and brands of shotguns, rifles, revolvers and pistols, and various ammunition.

The statements he wants suppressed include him telling a police negotiator that he shot O’Hare and another statement he made while at the hospital, according to the motion. Wilkinson was in a standoff with police before he surrendered and received minor injuries.

A suppression hearing is set 1:30 p.m. April 26, to argue the motions.

Witnesses discovered O’Hare’s body Aug. 24, in a rural area a short distance from Wilkinson’s home, according to criminal complaint. Witnesses also told police they heard gunshots the day before.

Kevin Techau

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, recommended Monday that the White House nominate Kevin W. Techau for U.S. Attorney of the Iowa Northern District.

“U.S. Attorneys play a critical role in our law enforcement system, and I take my constitutional role of providing advice on this nomination very seriously,” Harkin said. “Mr. Techau’s career, including in the military, as a federal defender and heading the Iowa Department of Public Safety and Department of Inspections and Appeals under Governor Vilsack demonstrates a commitment to public service, strong leadership, and excellent judgment and integrity.”

If nominated and confirmed, Techau would fill the vacancy made by Stephanie Rose, who was confirmed last year as a U.S. District judge for the Southern District.

Harkin said Techau would “vigorously and fairly” enforce the law and continue the “dedication to justice,” which was such an important part of Rose’s tenure as U.S. Attorney.

“I am pleased to submit this recommendation to President Obama and I look forward to working with him to fill this important position as quickly as possible,” Harkin said.

Since 2007, Techau has served as Associate General Counsel at the American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company in Des Moines. From 2002-2007, he served under Gov. Vilsack as Commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety and from 1999-2002, he was director of the Department of Inspections and Appeal.

Techau served as an assistant Federal Public Defender from 1996-1999, and prior to that, he was an attorney at Grefe and Sidney in Des Moines.  Techau also has a strong military record, spending seven years on active duty with the Air Force.  He served with the Iowa National Guard after leaving active service.

He is a graduate of Marion High School, the University of Iowa College of Business, and the University of Iowa College of Law.  Techau is also active in the community, serving as president of the Des Moines Library Board, chair of the Keep Iowa Beautiful Board, and as a member of the Civic Music Association Board.  He resides in Des Moines with his family.

Jeremy McAtee, 34, of Palo, pleaded guilty March 14, in Linn County District Court to second-degree burglary and possession of firearms as a felon in the Palo burglary. He also pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of a controlled substance from an incident in November 2012.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said McAtee will serve 10 years because all the charges will run concurrently according to the plea agreement. No sentencing date is set at this time.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed earlier this month, investigators recovered a cutting torch set and oxygen tanks from  McAtee’s residence which were stolen from 309 Church Street, a large privately owned garage. The gun found at McAtee’s wasn’t one of the guns stolen in the Palo burglary but he was charged for having possession of it because he has previous convictions.

Investigators also recovered a yellow wrecking bar from the burglary scene and tied it to McAtee after seeing a video surveillance tape of McAtee making the transaction at Wal-Mart, 3601 33rd Ave. SW on Jan. 29, according to the search warrant. The wrecking bar was the only one sold in the last 30 days.

Vander Sanden said the burglary investigation is ongoing and there could be additional arrests in the case. He declined to give further details about the case.

The others charged in the burglary are:

-Joshua Charmosta, 34, Cedar Rapids, was charged with Possession of Precursors, Aiding and Abetting the Manufacture of Methamphetamine, and Driving While Barred.

-Joshua Matheny, 26, Palo, was charged with Possession of a Firearm as a Felon; Possession of Stolen Property, Manufacture of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

-John Matheny, 49, Palo, was charged with Manufacture of Methamphetamine.

-Alisha Cryder, 21, of Louisville, KY, was charged with an outstanding warrant for Theft 5th Degree.

Jane Kelly

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved Assistant Federal Public Defender Jane Kelly’s nomination to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Friday.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said her nomination was approved by a bipartisan voice vote, after a delay from Thursday, and now goes on to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.

“I thank the Judiciary Committee, and particularly Sen. (Chuck) Grassley, for working to move Jane Kelly’s nomination so swiftly,” Harkin said. “Less than one month ago, the Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Ms. Kelly’s strong qualifications, commitment to justice, and her dedication as a public servant, and I am glad the committee has now sent her nomination to the full Senate.  I look forward to working with Sen. Grassley to ensure the full Senate acts on her nomination soon.”

Harkin recommended Kelly, a public defender since 1994 with the Northern District of Iowa, in late 2012 to Pres. Obama to replace now retired Judge Michael Melloy. Kelly was formally nominated by the President Jan. 31. On Feb. 27, Harkin then introduced Kelly at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on her nomination.

Harkin said at that hearing that Kelly, the supervising attorney in the Cedar Rapids office, was nominated because she possessed all the qualifications needed for a federal judge,  including intellect and character, and she has a reputation of being an “extremely talented lawyer.”

Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the judiciary committee, also supported Kelly at that hearing, citing her commitment to upholding the Constitution and the unanimous rating from the American Bar Association of being a “qualified” judicial nominee.

University of Richmond School of Law Prof. Carl Tobias, who analyzes the judiciary, said after the hearing the Senate will recess soon for two weeks and won’t return until April 8, so he’s “cautiously optimistic” she may received a floor vote in April or it could go into May.

“There is one appellate nominee and 16 district judge nominees ahead of her,” Tobias said. “I think she will win overwhelming appointment due in substantial measure to strong support from Senators Harkin and Grassley.”

If confirmed,  Kelly will be only the second female judge in the history to serve on 8th Circuit and the only public defender to serve on the bench since 1891. Pres. Obama has nominated 100 former prosecutors to the federal bench.

Kelly received her bachelor’s degree 1987 from Duke University and her law degree 1991 from Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, Kelly clerked for the U.S. District Judge Donald J. Porter of South Dakota and also clerked for Hansen.

Johnathan Mitchell

The trial for a man accused of killing a Cedar Rapids cab driver in 2011 has been reset again, this time to Oct. 8, in Story County District Court.

Johnathan Mitchell, 35, of Cedar Rapids, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the stabbing death of Cathy Stickley, 54, a Century Cab driver, April 29, 2011. According to a criminal complaint, Stickley was found dead by her vehicle in the 1500 block alley between Second and Third avenues SE in Cedar Rapids. Stickley died of multiple stab wounds to her neck and head.

Mitchell’s trial started last August in Story County on a change of venue but ended in mistrial during jury selection because the prosecutor had a serious medical condition and couldn’t continue the trial.

There have been several continuances in the case.