Cedar Rapids woman convicted of perjury in federal firearms case

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids woman who made false statements to a grand jury in 2014 about seeing her ex-husband, a felon and drug user, with a gun, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court and faces five years in prison.

Danielle Ayers, 41, pleaded guilty to perjury. In a plea agreement, she admitted testifying that she hadn't seen her ex-husband Matthew Robbins in possession of a firearm. The plea agreement shows Ayers told the grand jury she hadn't seen Robbins with a firearm in the last five years.

The grand jury was hearing testimony in regards to indicting Robbins, 42, of Ely, for being a felon and unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. He was eventually charged and after his first trial ended in a mistrial, he pleaded guilty in August before being retried.

Ayers' lawyer, Mark Brown, filed a motion asking the court to modify Ayers' conditions of release pending sentencing, which included home arrest, at her parent's home so she could see her children and she wanted to see Robbins. Neither was allowed according to a previous order.

U.S. Chief Magistrate Jon Scoles said he would make a ruling later. Documents filed in Ayers' perjury case in April revealed Robbins lived at an Ely farm, which a forensic team was excavating a burn pit in May for possible human remains in connection with James Booher, 51, of Marion. He was last seen May 31, 2014 and is considered a homicide victim by police.

The documents describe a text message exchange between Ayers and another person that concerns Booher. It references Robbins and another man robbing Booher about June 1, 2014, a day after police say he was seen alive. The week before Robbins' trial started, his lawyer filed a motion to prevent the prosecution from naming Booher's name at trial.

Witnesses were to testify in the first trial about Robbins allegedly buying meth from Booher and about Booher's 'activities' at the Ely farm where Robbins lived in 2014, documents show.

Police haven't made public any results from the forensic excavation, but a federal prosecutor said in court documents that .45 caliber shell casings were found, which would have been evidence used in Robbins' retrial. Robbins could face up to 15 years in federal prison.

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