Retaliation over doughnut nets Cedar Rapids man 15 years

A 25-year-old Cedar Rapids man will spend 15 years in prison for a shooting that started over a powder sugared doughnut.

Derrick Roberts was sentenced Friday Linn County District Court for shooting and seriously injuring Delores Smith as she sat in a parked van April 29, 2009. Roberts had a confrontation with the owners of the van, the Allen family, earlier that day because Mildred Allen accidentally tossed a donut on his pants leg.

Roberts, was found guilty by a jury in May of assault with intent to inflict serious injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, assault causing serious injury, going armed with intent and of going armed with a concealed weapon.

He was originally charged with attempted murder, along with the assault and gun related charges.

Delores Smith submitted a victim's impact statement to the court but declined to read it in court Friday. Mildred Allen was also in court but she also declined to make a statement.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Jason Burns asked the judge for the maximum sentence of 19 years.

“There's no justification in unloading a gun clip on a van,” Burns said.

The jury may have chosen lesser charges but decided he was guilty on every charge, Burns said.

Mike Lahammer, Roberts defense attorney, asked the judge to sentence Roberts to nine years in prison, less than the pre-sentencing recommendation of 15 years, because Roberts believed he was defending himself that day. He thought Mildred Allen's nephew, Lovie Allen, had a weapon and was going to shoot him.

Roberts apologized to Smith, saying he didn't mean to hurt her, and he apologized to the community.

“I wasn't trying to kill nobody,” he said.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Mitchell Turner said Roberts could have killed Smith and the others in that van by his “reckless disregard” and “woefully deficient”  judgment.

“The evidence at trial didn't show Lovie Allen had a weapon that day,” he said.

Turner also said Roberts put the community in danger because the shooting didn't happen in an isolated area – “it happened in the middle of the day on Third Avenue (SE).”