No charges filed at this time for suspect arrested in death of homeless man found near Cedar Rapids church

An arrest was made Wednesday in the death of a homeless man, who was found last week in a church parking lot, but Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden on Thursday refused to file any charges, saying police lacked evidence.

Cedar Rapids police sent out a news release Thursday afternoon, stating a suspect had been arrested and charged for willful injury and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Raymond Ursino, 56. Police previously called it a suspicious death.

Ursino's body was found about 7:30 a.m. Sept. 5 when police responded to a 'person down” in the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church, 310 Fifth St. SE, according to a police report.

'It's clear the investigation is not yet completed,” Vander Sanden said after he reviewed what investigators brought him Thursday morning. 'There is not sufficient legal evidence to file charges at this time.”

He added that police don't charge, the county attorney's office does, and he hasn't authorized any charges in this case as of Thursday afternoon.

Greg Buelow, public safety spokesman, said in the news release that a preliminary report from the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office showed that Ursino's death was caused by strangulation.

Vander Sanden again confirmed that he wasn't given that report or any other medical findings, so he couldn't comment. The investigator gave him a video of the incident from a surveillance camera near the church this morning, but it's inconclusive, he said.

'I personally viewed the video but it doesn't clearly show what happened,” Vander Sanden said. 'I asked them to continue to investigate and resubmit it to me.”

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner confirmed the suspect police arrested was released Thursday.