Storm Lake man who kidnapped wife by gunpoint faces 40 years

IOWA CITY — A Storm Lake man who last year kidnapped his wife at gunpoint and threatened to kill her and himself while fleeing police pleaded guilty Wednesday before his trial was set to start next week.

Carldale Hunter, 34, pleaded in Johnson County District Court to first-degree robbery, third-degree kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Johnson County Attorney’s Office. The sentences will run consecutively for a total of 40 years in prison. The sentence for robbery is 25 years, and 70 percent of it must be served before Hunter will be eligible for parole.

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The other charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, domestic abuse assault and child endangerment will be dismissed at sentencing set for Dec. 18, as part of the plea agreement.

Hunter was charged Monday with 23 counts of contempt for violating no-contact orders for his wife, Shelitha Hunter, and three of their children who were at the Burlington Trailways bus stop in Iowa City when police found and arrested him after the kidnapping incident.

According to the criminal complaints, Hunter made contact through phone calls with his wife and children while in the Johnson County Jail. The calls were at different times and days from January through June.

Kidnapping, robbery incident

Shelitha Hunter’s mother called Iowa City police Dec. 12, 2022, after receiving a concerning text message from her daughter, who said not to text her back because she had been taken against her will by her husband, who had a gun.

The daughter, in her text, asked her mother not to call the police because Hunter threatened to kill her. She said she would call police when she got away. Hunter told her he was going to “kill y’all,” the text stated, according to a search warrant affidavit.

The mother believed Hunter had taken her daughter from Cedar Rapids and was headed to Chicago, according to the affidavit. Iowa City police found the couple and three children in the Burlington Trailways lobby at 170 E. Court St. in Iowa City.

As soon as police arrived, Hunter pulled out a gun and grabbed his wife, holding her in front of him like a shield and pressing the gun to the back of her head, according to a criminal complaint. He told officers he would kill her if they didn’t back off, and then fled with her into the Court Street Parking Ramp, the complaint stated.

Another woman was in her car on the second floor of the parking ramp when she encountered Hunter and his wife running up the ramp toward her vehicle, according to the complaint. The driver attempted to lock her door, but Hunter was able to open it and told her to get out. She refused twice, even after he told her he was armed. Hunter then pointed a small handgun at the driver’s face and told her again to get out, the complaint stated. She finally was able to get her car door locked, and again refused.

An officer could hear Hunter yelling and saw him attempting to force the driver out of her vehicle, according to the complaint. Police continued to follow Hunter and his wife through multiple levels of the parking garage until officers were able to corner him.

Officers attempted to negotiate while he was holding his wife and threatened to kill her and himself. Eventually, he released his wife and shot and injured himself. Hunter was taken to a hospital and then released to police custody.

His three children — an infant, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old — were present in the lobby of the bus stop during the incident, police said.

Hunter has previous felony convictions in Pocahontas County in 2021 and Cook County, Ill., in 2017.

Hunter, while in the Johnson County Jail, also was charged with participating in a July 6 riot. He entered another cell with six other inmates and assaulted Ewaun Gardner. During the assault, Hunter “physically prevented” the victim from leaving the cell, according to a criminal complaint.

Hunter pleaded guilty last month to a lesser charge of unlawful assembly, an aggravated misdemeanor, and sentenced to 90 days in jail.

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