Federal prosecutor awarded for work on 2 Meskwaki murder cases

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Morfitt received a national award for his successful prosecution of two murder cases in 2014 on the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama County.

Morfitt was one of 179 members of the Department of Justice to receive the Director's Award in June 16 ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

Morfitt prosecuted Gordon Lasley Jr., who killed his parents Feb. 5, 2014, and who is now serving two life sentences.

He also prosecuted Jonathan Youngbear, who pleaded guilty to stabbing and killing Severn Jefferson, 17, on Feb. 24, 2014.

Both men were members of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi, and the murders occurred on the Meskwaki Settlement, which put the cases in federal court.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sean Berry of the Northern District of Iowa said the award was well-deserved.

'Through his outstanding work, Assistant U.S. Attorney Morfitt helped secure justice following three tragic murders,” he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan said Morfitt gained 'tremendous” trial experience from his time as a Judge Advocate General attorney in the U.S. Air Force, when he was stationed in South Korea,

Deegan said Morfitt successfully prosecuted Randy Metcalf of Dubuque for a racially motivated hate crime in 2016.

And Morfitt also prosecuted an infamous drug distributor, Rory Meeks, a professional rodeo clown from Marion, convicted of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2013. Meeks planted marijuana in corn and soybean fields in Jones County for several years.

Morfitt, 37, a prosecutor in the Cedar Rapids U.S. Attorney's Office for nearly seven years, said he was honored to be nominated for the award by his office.

He said the murder cases were the first ones he'd prosecuted and each had unique challenges. It's rare for a federal prosecutor to handle murder cases because those typically are tried in state courts.

LASLEY CASE

Morfitt, in his opening statement at the Lasley trial in December 2014, laid out the grizzly murders in which Lasley used a 3-foot homemade machete to stab to death his father, Gordon Lasley Sr., and his mother, Kim Lasley, in their home.

One of the challenges, Morfitt said, was Lasley's insanity defense, in which he claimed he believed his parents infected him with AIDS or another sexually transmitted disease and had put 'bad medicine” or a 'hex” on him. He told psychologists he believed the only way to heal himself was to kill them.

Morfitt, who has been the Meskwaki tribal liaison for four years, brought in several witnesses, some of them related to Lasley, to testify about their beliefs about bad medicine, to refute the Lasley's defense.

A jury convicted Lasley of two counts of second-degree murder.

YOUNGBEAR CASE

In the Youngbear murder case, Morfitt had to deal with how substance abuse impacts premeditation in trying to prove the murder charge.

Jonathan Youngbear, 21 at the time, stabbed and killed Severn Jefferson, 17, a man Youngbear called his 'brother.”

Youngbear and Jefferson had an argument after they had been drinking and doing methamphetamine, Youngbear's cousin told police. Jonathan came up behind Jefferson while he was sitting on the sofa, motioned to the cousin to be quiet and then fatally stabbed Jefferson.

Youngbear's lawyers argued the alcohol and meth in his system affected his perception, and he didn't understand the argument going on that day. They also tried to keep out of trial the statements Youngbear had made to police, arguing he was too drunk or under the influence to understand his rights.

Morfitt, during a hearing, presented testimony from an FBI crime lab forensic chemist who testified Youngbear's blood alcohol content level at the time could have impacted his decision-making but that the meth in his system wasn't an 'abusive” amount.

Morfitt said a judge ruled most of Youngbear's statements and other evidence from a search warrant could be used at trial. In a plea agreement, Youngbear pleaded to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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