Accused murderer of a taxi driver was out on bond from previous charge

CEDAR RAPIDS – Police and others are questioning how the man who is accused of stabbing and killing a local taxi driver was out on the streets, free on bond, after a previous violent assault last September.

Johnathan Mitchell, 33, charged in the first-degree murder of Cathy Stickley, 54, mother of four and a taxi driver for Century Cab, remains in jail after a $1 million cash bond was set Wednesday but last Friday when Stickley was murdered he was free on a $10,000 bond for a previous charge of beating a man near Coe College on Sept. 25.

Stickley was found dead by her vehicle Friday in the 1500 block alley between 2nd and 3rd avenues SE, according to a criminal complaint. She died of multiple stab wounds to her neck and head.

Mitchell's bond for the assault was originally set at $25,000 but reduced by 6th Judicial District Associate Judge Russell Keast after defense argued for a lower bond in October, which Johnathan Mitchell posted and went home.

“The frustrating thing for law enforcement is that we're held to a high standard and accountable,” Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said Wednesday. “We're held accountable for not making an arrest. The bad guys have more breaks than what we do.”

Assistant Linn County Attorney Jason Besler said he wasn't present at the bond review hearing for the assault charge but filed a resistance to the reduction because of the seriousness of the crime. He couldn't explain the judge's reasoning for the reduction.

Besler said he resisted the defense's motion based on the incident and seriousness of the crime.

The alleged assault victim Arvin Druvenga, of Cedar Rapids, was badly beaten with a large wooden stick, according to police reports. He suffered skull fractures, a laceration on the top of his head that required eight staples and numerous other skin abrasions. He also had to wear a neck brace for several weeks.

Druvenga told police he and wife were parked in their car on 15th Street watching the game because it was raining, according to a police report. They heard a man, who later they discovered was Mitchell, as he was sitting on his porch across the street “yelling things” but they assumed it was about the the game.

Druvenga then got out of his car and came around to the passenger door to talk to his wife. While standing there, the man walked over and raised a large stick with a metal end and started beating him, striking his lower back.

Officer Brandon Boesenberg wrote in his report that Druvenga remembers getting hit again and then his memory faded. His wife, Kathleen gave the same account of the incident, he said.

Officers also interviewed three other witnesses who said Mitchell beat Druvenga.

Officer Thai Nguyen said Mitchell after he was arrested was screaming at him and Druvenga “Im from this neighborhood, where are you from? This is war.”

Besler and Hamblin said incidents like this where a defendant commits another crime while free on bond for a previous offense doesn't happen a lot but happens more than it should.

“When it does happen, it can be pretty horrific,” Hamblin said.

Besler said he doesn't presume to know how or why the judge made his decision but a judge weighs many factors such as risk to the community, if the offender is a flight risk and criminal history. The state also takes those things into consideration but the judge and the prosecutors also have to acknowledge the fact that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

“With the assault charge and his current charge, he (Mitchell) has the presumption of innocence according to the law,” Besler said.