Official downplays paperwork delay before Cedar Rapids murder

CEDAR RAPIDS - Department of Corrections employees whose paperwork delay allowed a suspect in a brutal assault to stay free should not be considered responsible in the fatal stabbing of a Cedar Rapids taxi driver that police blame on the same man, a department official said Thursday.

Gary Hinzman, director of the 6th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, said his staff completed a pre-sentence investigation report in an assault case involving Johnathan D. Mitchell early on April 29. Mitchell had been expected to attend a hearing later the same day to plead guilty to beating a man with a wooden yard tool outside a football game at Coe College last September, and be sentenced to prison.

However, because reports such are generally required to be submitted three days before hearings, Mitchell's defense attorney requested a hearing delay and Judge Mitchell Turner rescheduled the court date for May 13. Mitchell, 33, was free on bond.

Police say that on the evening of April 29, Mitchell stabbed 54-year-old Cathy Stickley to death in an alley in the city's southwest side during a robbery attempt.

Investigators found Mitchell's bloody palm print on the taxi's window and a witness tied him to the scene, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities arrested him Tuesday, and he appeared in court Wednesday. Mitchell did not enter a plea.

Hinzman said the precise reason that the report was submitted too late was unimportant, although the complexity of Mitchell's background and possible confusion over the hearing date may have been factors.

"I don't believe the system failed. I think there are nuances that go through the court system every day," Hinzman said. "I think we had an unfortunate incident as a result of this one particular case."

He noted that his staff had not asked for a postponement and that they had completed the sentencing report before the scheduled hearing. He said Judge Turner did not have to grant the delay request.

Turner told The Associated Press that was inaccurate because Mitchell did not waive his right to review the report for three days and the law otherwise required the delay.

Hinzman said critics could also question why Mitchell was allowed to be free before trial after Judge Russell Keast reduced his bond from $25,000 to $10,000 and allowed him to post 10 percent, or $1,000, in October. Keast declined an interview request by The Associated Press.

Also, no one has been able to explain why Mitchell's arrest on a felony forgery charge just weeks after he was released on bond did not affect his freedom. Keast released him in that case on his own recognizance, court records show. Prosecutors said Wednesday they didn't know why they apparently didn't seek to have him incarcerated at that point, but noted forgery is a non-violent offense. Hinzman, whose staff was supervising Mitchell at the time, couldn't explain it either.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a spokeswoman for the Cedar Rapids Police Department, said it would be helpful if Keast explained his decisions to the public but noted he is not required to do so. Right now, it's unfair to second-guess his decisions without having all of the facts, she said.

"I could Monday morning quarterback and say he should never have been let out, but I don't have all the circumstances the court had at that time," she said.

Stickley's family, which has asked the media to respect its privacy, has been informed about how Mitchell was supposed to be sentenced before the slaying, she said.

"They were upset their mother was murdered," she said. "I think it's still one of those things they are still trying to get through all of the emotions of the death of their parent. All of this is so overwhelming for them."