Man charged in fatal shooting of Iowa City bondsman will go forward this month

IOWA CITY - Prosecutors will not ask to reset the trial of a man accused in the fatal shooting of an Iowa City bondsman last year because a gun recovered by construction workers two weeks ago isn't the weapon used in the crime.

Assistant Johnson County Attorney Elizabeth Dupuich withdrew her motion to continue the first-degree murder trial of Curtis C. Jones, 41, last Friday. The motion was filed because more time was needed for the state crime lab to analyze the recovered gun and compare it to the five cartridge casings recovered at Lederman Bail Bonds, where bondsman Jonathan Wieseler worked April 22, 2017.

Dupuich, in Friday's motion, said the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab in Ankeny expedited the analysis and 'unexpectedly” were able to generate a report from the ballistic testing. The report received Sept. 13 indicates the recovered handgun isn't the same weapon.

Construction workers discovered a German made .25 caliber Gecado handgun Aug. 31 behind 405 2nd Street in Coralville, according to court documents. Authorities said Jones fired five times at Wieseler. One of the bullets recovered from the crime scene was consistent with having been fired from about 26 different known handguns, which included a Gecado, prosecutors said in the motion.

Near the gun, police investigators also found a portion of a bank debit card that showed only the last digit of the account number. Wieseler's debit card, along with his wallet, were missing from the crime scene. His debit card was from the same bank and had the same last digit of his account as the one found near the gun.

According to Jones' cellphone records, he was making calls in the area where the gun was recovered, about 12 hours after Wieseler was fatally shot, prosecutors said in the motion.

The trial will go forward on Sept. 28. in Polk County District Court. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Authorities say Jones shot Wieseler sometime between 10:20 and 10:32 p.m. on April 22 at Lederman Bail Bonds in Iowa City. Police said the shooting happened during a robbery.

Jones is also faces a first-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of cabdriver Ricky Lillie on June 27, 2017.

The trial in Lillie's fatal shooting is set Nov. 5 in Scott County District Court.

Both trials were moved out of Johnson because of extensive pretrial publicity.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Jones faces life in prison without parole.

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