From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 71-year-old Spirit Lake man has again been found guilty of murder in a second trial in the May 2020 death of a Cleghorn man. The Sioux City Journal reports that a Sioux County jury on Tuesday found Gregg Eugene Winterfeld guilty of second-degree murder in the death of 58-year-old Grant Wilson. Wilson was found dead in a rural Ireron, Iowa, home, and investigators said Winterfeld shot the younger man during an argument. Winterfeld was charged with first-degree murder, but a jury in April found him guilty of second-degree murder. Before Winterfeld could be sentenced, a judge ordered a new trial after determining an error had been made during the jury selection process. Winterfeld faces up to 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced later.
UNION, Iowa (AP) – Police say a 74-year-old man found dead in his central Iowa home this week was killed, and detectives have arrested a 22-year-old Arkansas man in the case. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says Steve Reece was found dead Tuesday morning in a bedroom, and investigators determined he had been killed. Deputies with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office soon arrested 22-year-old Osborn Gavel, of Baxter, Arkansas, on suspicion of first-degree murder. Officials say Gavel was among several people who stayed in Reece’s home Monday night and believe Gavel hit the older man, leading to his death.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Voters in central Iowa elected Republican Jon Dunwell to fill an open state House seat in a special election held after the incumbent lawmaker resigned. Dunwell defeated Democrat Steve Mullan on Tuesday in House District 29 seat, which represents Newton and other smaller communities in Jasper County. The seat became open when Democratic incumbent Wes Breckenridge resigned after accepting a job at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. Dunwell ran for the seat in 2020 and lost to Breckenridge. He is a pastor and works as a financial services representative. Mullan is a retired teacher who serves on the Newton City Council. Republicans now hold a 60 to 40 majority in the House.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – A 22-year-old Muscatine man has been convicted of stabbing another man to death at a party last year. A jury convicted Milton Serrano of second-degree murder Tuesday in the death of 19-year-old Chantz Stevens, of Wilton. Serrano was initially charged with first-degree murder in Stevens’ death. Police say Serrano stabbed Stevens to death after Serrano was asked to leave a party in July 2020 at a home south of Clarence. Investigators Serrano posted an account of the stabbing on social media hours after Stevens was killed. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Scott County Attorney Mike Walton has been removed from a $5 million lawsuit filed after a fatal police shooting in 2018. The lawsuit was filed after Robert Mitchell was shot by a Scott County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop on the north side of Davenport in October 2018. About a month later, Walton determined the shooting was justified. The administrator of Mitchell’s estate dismissed a due process count against Walton in September. Several other counts against Scott County and the deputy who shot Mitchell are still pending.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A judge has found a Des Moines activist guilty of first-degree theft for taking a police flyer used to identify protesters from an officer’s back pocket during a protest last year. The Des Moines Register reports that 27-year-old Alexandria Dea was found guilty Monday by Judge David Porter after she waived her right to a jury trial and consented to allow the judge to base his decision on facts already on the record. Dea is expected to seek a deferred judgment when she’s sentenced on Dec. 7. Prosecutors say Dea took the intelligence bulletin from an officer’s back pocket during a confrontation between officers and protesters on July 1, 2020.
