Appeals court upholds 9 of 10 convictions of Stanley Donahue in deputy shooting

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld nine of 10 convictions of a Chicago man sentenced to 92 years in prison for shooting and injuring a Linn County sheriff’s deputy during a robbery of a Coggon convenience store in 2021.

The court ruled last week that a trafficking in stolen weapons conviction should be tossed out because the elements of the crime required Stanley L. Donahue, 40, to know the firearm he took was stolen. According to testimony, Donahue took the gun from Deputy Will Halverson during the robbery.

The appeals court sent the case back to Linn County District Court for a judge to amend the sentencing by dismissing the one conviction, but the amendment doesn’t change the 92 years Donahue must serve.

The trial judge ran the trafficking charge concurrently with the disarming a peace officer conviction. This change doesn’t require a formal sentencing hearing with Donahue’s personal appearance, according to the appeals court ruling.

Donahue also appealed his other convictions on various grounds, including sufficiency of the evidence, but the court upheld them for attempted murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, willful injury causing serious injury, attempt to elude, two charges of false imprisonment, disarming a peace officer and felon in possession of a firearm.

Donahue must serve a mandatory minimum of 60 years before being eligible for parole.

According to testimony, Donahue entered the Casey’s convenience store June 20, 2021. When he went to pay a store clerk, Jacob Christianson, 21, at the front counter, Donahue pointed a gun at him and said “give me the money.” Christianson pulled out the top dollar bills stacked in the register with a clip and receipt attached, which triggered a silent alarm. Donahue continued to take numerous items and a purse from Maddie Stepanek, 18, another employee.

Christianson and Stepanek were forced into the cooler and a few minutes later they heard gunshots, both testified.

Halverson, who responded to the alarm, testified he didn’t see a clerk inside and only saw a man — later identified as Donahue — standing at the front counter with a garbage bag over his shoulder. He tried to grab Donahue’s arm to detain him, but Donahue pulled away and starting shooting at Halverson.

Halverson, who was shot seven times, testified he thought he was going to die. When he was down on the floor, he felt a “tugging” on his right side where his .40 caliber Glock was holstered, and felt it being removed.

Donahue fled the store and was arrested 14 hours after the robbery when a TV news crew spotted him walking along Aldridge Road in Coggon.

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