Coggon robbery suspect held on $2.5 million bail in shooting of Linn County deputy

An armed robber who had just forced two Casey’s General Store clerks into the cooler and was fleeing the store fired 10 rounds at a sheriff’s deputy as he arrived on the scene — but the deputy was wearing a protective vest and, while badly injured, remained stable Tuesday, according to authorities and court records.

The Linn County deputy, identified as William Halverson, 38, suffered shots in the left hip and leg. The seven-year employee of the sheriff’s office was in serious but stable condition at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the sheriff’s office said.

Stanley L. Donahue, 36, captured after a 14-hour manhunt and charged in the robbery and shooting, made an initial appearance Tuesday in Linn County District Court where a judge set bail at $2.5 million and appointed the public defender’s office to represent him.

The Linn County Deputy Sheriff that sustained injuries during the Coggon armed robbery is William Halverson. Deputy Halverson is a seven year veteran with the Sheriff’s Office. He remains at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in serious, but stable condition. pic.twitter.com/VaNOUMwPAL

— LinnCountySheriff (@LinnIASheriff) June 22, 2021

If convicted of all 10 charges against him, Donahue, of Chicago, could be “looking at a total of 112 years” in prison with a mandatory 65 years to serve, First Assistant Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks told The Gazette. The count of attempted murder of a peace officer alone carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years, he said.

Donahue faces charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of false imprisonment, willful injury, attempt to elude, disarming a peace officer, trafficking in stolen weapons and possession of a firearm as a felon.

According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Donahue late Sunday robbed the Casey’s at 5110 Highway 13 in Coggon at gunpoint, stealing cash from the safe, cigarette cartons and the clerks’ personal belongings. He then forced the clerks in a store cooler.

An alarm signifying a robbery in progress tripped at 10:19 p.m. Sunday. Halverson arrived six minutes later. The first to arrive on scene, Halverson came in the front door and was "immediately met by an armed suspect trying to leave the store” and was shot, the sheriff’s office said.

Donahue then took Halverson’s service gun and fled in a minivan. With another deputy following him, Donahue crashed the van and ran from the wreck, authorities said. Both guns were found in the van, court records show, along with items taken in the robbery.

An overnight manhunt for Donahue that involved drones and police dogs ended Monday afternoon when a TV news crew spotted him walking along Highway 13 near Coggon and notified authorities. The sheriff’s office said Donahue was arrested without incident and taken to Linn County Jail.

“We feel confident that we identified the perpetrator and that we’ll be looking into whether there is any video surveillance or bodycam footage,” Maybanks said.

Authorities said in the criminal complaint that Donahue was previously convicted of felonies in Illinois and Oklahoma.

The shooting of Halverson is the first time a Linn County sheriff’s deputy has been shot in the line of duty since 1973, the sheriff’s office said.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com.

Trish Mehaffey of The Gazette contributed to this report.