Cedar Rapids man gets probation in Los Cocos shooting

A Cedar Rapids man was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to report Monday to a work release center in Cedar Rapids, for his role in a shooting last summer at an Iowa City bar.

Bernard Butler II, 19, was sentenced Friday morning by Johnson County District Court Judge Marsha Bergen to five years, suspended, on each of two counts, along with a suspended $750 fine on each count. Butler will serve three years probation and will report Monday to the Larry Nelson Center in Cedar Rapids. Butler was accused of shooting Cortez Parker, 34, of Iowa City, in the abdomen Aug. 9 at the now-closed Los Cocos in Iowa City.

Butler originally was charged with attempted murder in the shooting, but in February he pleaded guilty to two lesser offenses - going armed with intent and intimidation with a dangerous weapon, both class D felonies.

As part of the plea agreement between Butler's attorney, Thomas Diehl, and assistant Johnson County Attorney Deborah Minot, Butler admitted to threatening to shoot Parker, but not actually shooting him, in order to be sentenced to supervised probation.

At the sentencing, Butler apologized for his mistakes.

“I'm really looking forward to making up for it,” he said.