Cedar Rapids man sentenced to 62 years for trying to kill police officers

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Police Officer Matt Jenatscheck never considered himself to be a “victim,” but that all changed July 30, 2022 when Brandon Lee Nelson decided to “kill a cop.”

“Because that night, it wasn’t just me, personally, that became a victim. It was everyone around me, and close to me. My family, friends and my co-workers,” Jenatscheck said Monday in his victim impact statement during Nelson’s sentencing.

Jenatscheck said he didn’t believe Nelson’s legal defense of “suicide by cop,” which “thankfully, in the end, 12 additional people (jurors)” didn’t either. He believes Nelson’s actions were “deliberate and with purpose” when he raised his shotgun at Blair Klostermann Cavin and then aimed and fired it at Jenatscheck.

Individuals like Nelson, “who want to harm and kill police officers, do walk amongst us,” Jenatscheck said. The words “goodbye, have a good night at work, be safe and I love you” that he would hear from his loved ones took on different meanings after July 30. He said his wife would have to physically touch him as they went to bed because she would have to know he was there and safe, he said almost choking up, trying not to have tears in his eyes.

Many moments of that night play over and over in his head.

“I was awakened often in the early days after July 30, by the sight of a gun being pointed at me,” Jenatscheck said. “The barrel of that gun took on an image that then brought up thoughts about how close I came to facing my own mortality.”

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Those thoughts of the gun pointed at him brought him back to that moment that he felt he was going to be killed if “I didn’t act first,” Jenatscheck said.

“In that split second, I had to make a life-altering decision to make sure myself and Blair did not die on the side of the road.”

As Jenatscheck left the witness stand and walked back to the gallery of the courtroom, he stopped and hugged Klostermann Cavin as she was going up to give her statement.

Blair Klostermann Cavin, in her statement, said Nelson’s actions that day changed her life forever and led to her decision to end her law enforcement career.

“I balled every night and had panic attacks every night Paul (her husband) would leave for work for four months straight after July 30, said Klostermann Cavin, who was tearing up and almost crying during her statement. “I was now scared of this job. He did that to me. Brandon caused my trauma.”

Klostermann Cavin said Nelson’s actions caused her to miss her “honeymoon phase” of her first year of marriage with Paul Cavin, also a Cedar Rapids police officer.

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“His actions of July 30 not only affected me and traumatized me, it traumatized my husband as well and impacted our relationship,” Klostermann Cavin said. “He hurt all of us. He hurt the blue lives, he hurt my husband, he hurt Matt’s wife, he hurt Matt’s kids and he hurt our families.”

Klostermann Cavin said she knows she wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Jenatscheck saving her life, and his is the one life she wanted to save that night.

Nelson, 24, was convicted by a jury in September of one count of attempted murder; two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon; three counts of assault on a peace officer with a dangerous weapon; two counts of interference with official acts while armed with a firearm; and one count each of going armed with intent, persons ineligible to carry dangerous weapons, eluding, reckless driving and driving while barred.

Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks recommended a sentence of 62 years, which would run some of the charges consecutively and others concurrently.

Cory Goldensoph, Nelson’s lawyer, asked the court to run all the charges concurrently to the attempted murder charge for a total sentence of 25 years, noting that because the crime was against an officer, Nelson would have to serve a mandatory 25 years before being eligible for parole.

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Nelson, during the hearing, said he didn’t realize how serious his actions were until he saw the charges. He admitted he deserves prison time but he didn’t mean for the gun to “go off.” He had no intention to hurt anyone and doesn’t take responsibility for attempted murder of Jenatscheck, he said.

Nelson said he “truly didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” He apologized to Klostermann Cavin and Jenatscheck, as well as to the other officers who responded that night. He also apologized to their families. He never thought about the “people involved” and how it would affect them.

“Truly, I am sorry to everyone involved. I wish I could take it all back,” Nelson said.

Sixth Judicial District Justin Lightfoot sentenced him to 62 years in prison, running some of the charges consecutively and some concurrently — similar to what the prosecution recommended.

During the trial, the officers testified that after Nelson led police on a high-speed chase up and down Edgewood Road, he got out of his vehicle with a shotgun and racked it, pointed it twice at Klostermann Cavin and then aimed at Jenatscheck, who had pulled his police cruiser up next to Klostermann Cavin’s. Both were behind their open car doors and yelling at Nelson to drop the gun.

Klostermann Cavin said she didn’t want to die and didn’t want to shoot Nelson, but then Nelson took a few steps toward them and “zeroed in,” aiming the shotgun at Jenatscheck.

Jenatscheck said he fired eight times, but Nelson was still aiming at him and he didn’t know, at that time, if Klostermann Cavin had fired also. But Klostermann Cavin fired four shots.

Nelson was hit three times and he discharged the shotgun once.

Nelson, in his testimony, said he planned to have the police kill him because he was depressed over a breakup with his girlfriend and didn’t have the “courage” to kill himself. Nelson told the jury he had no intention of killing or harming the officers.

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