String of serious Iowa City crimes, homicides put police, prosecutors to the test

IOWA CITY — If Iowa City Police Chief Jody Matherly — who started with the department in January — had any questions about his new department's ability to investigate major crimes, 2017 has provided ample opportunities to put them to the test.

There have been three homicide investigations this year. From 2010 to 2016, there were two homicides investigated by Iowa City police. The last time three homicide investigations took place in the same year was 2008.

There also have been four attempted murder investigations this year, up from only one in 2016.

Richard Pratt / The Gazette

The results of those investigations? Two arrests for first-degree murder and arrests in all four attempted murder cases. Authorities said they are confident an arrest will be made in the third homicide.

'This was a test, not for me, but for the officers themselves and they passed with flying colors,' Matherly said. 'I'm impressed with their level of expertise and dedication.'

That dedication comes at a cost, however. Matherly and those working in the department's investigations unit said homicide cases can be stressful for the department, especially in the first critical hours, days and weeks of the investigation.

'It does put a lot of strain on us,' said Det. Mike Smithey, the lead investigator on two of the homicides.

Three homicide cases

The first Iowa City homicide of the year was reported the morning of April 23, when the body of Jonathan Wieseler, 34, was found at Lederman Bail Bonds office, where he was employed as a bail bondsman. Police said Wieseler was shot to death. An arrest has not been made in that case.

The body of Ricky Lillie, 46, was found inside his cab in the 500 block of Ernest Street in the early morning hours of June 28. Lillie was shot to death. Curtis C. Jones, 41, was identified as a person of interest in the case and later charged with first-degree murder. Authorities have said Jones entered Lillie's cab on June 27 and took an 'uninterrupted' cab to Ernest Street, where Jones shot Lillie and took his belongings.

Jones' murder trial has been moved out of Johnson County and a trial date has not yet been set.

The third homicide occurred on the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall in the early morning hours of Aug. 27. Police said violence erupted between two arguing groups — resulting in the shooting death of Kaleek Jones, 23, by Lamar Wilson, 21. Wilson was arrested immediately after the shooting and has been charged with first-degree murder for Jones' death and two counts of attempted murder for shooting at two other suspects. A charge of criminal gang participation also was recently added.

Using a 'stand your ground' defense, Wilson intends to argue he was acting in self-defense or defense of others when he fired his weapon.

Each homicide is an 'all hands on deck' event, Matherly said. He concedes that can be stressful.

'There is a level of ... stress with the incident itself,' he said. 'But, there's also a strain for urgency. The first few hours, the first few days of the investigation are critical ... The officers cancel vacations, they cancel training, we have to backfill on patrol.'

Working as a Team

A tremendous amount of work is involved early on in the investigations and those duties are assigned to not only investigators, but patrol officers and those on light duty, as well, said Smithey, who is the lead investigator for the Wieseler and Lillie homicides. For instance, in the Wieseler investigation, police collected footage from 65 to 70 video cameras. Each camera had three to 20 hours of footage to review for potential leads.

'The amount of data collected in these cases is really pretty staggering,' Smithey said. 'It's all saved and you have to watch it and you have to watch it in real time and you have to know it.'

Smithey noted that a significant sexual assault case took place just eight days before the Wieseler homicide. He said between those two cases, there was a three-week period when several investigators were putting in consecutive 80-hour weeks.

'I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be here when it happened,' Smithey said. 'I think most of us do. I could use a break, don't get me wrong, but I want to be here. I want to share the responsibility for it.'

Investigations Sgt. Jorey Bailey said that sense of shared responsibility has helped investigators manage not only the major crimes, but other cases that have come in this year.

'Our successes really come from the people we have and their ability to work as a team,' Bailey said. 'Lieutenant (Zack) Diersen and I are support staff for those great investigators and we do our best to provide them the support they need to be successful.'

'A challenge'

Police are not the only ones coping with the workload of three homicides. Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said her office is involved at the beginning of each homicide investigation, even before an arrest is made. That includes the Wieseler homicide, which remains open.

'That case is still being investigated and we're hoping to be able to charge someone with that fairly soon,' she said.

Both Jones and Wilson are facing first-degree murder charges. Lyness said two attorneys are assigned to each murder case for a total of four attorneys working on two cases, meaning the other attorneys are left picking up much of the rest of the case load.

'With two (murder cases) going and the investigation still going for the third one, it really is a lot of work,' she said. 'It is a drain on our resources in making sure we have everything covered and have adequate time to work on the cases. It really is a challenge.'

Timing can be an issue as well. Lyness said prosecutors must prepare for a case as if the defendant won't waive their right to a speedy trial and the case won't be delayed. However, cases do get delayed, but often at the last minute. That makes getting attorneys time off that much more difficult.

'It's kind of a juggling act,' she said, adding, 'It can be very stressful and stressful on families.'

'We all work together,' Lyness said of her office. 'We have a great group of attorneys who are willing to cover for each other and help each other out.'

DAILY ACTIONS

Matherly said there were 197 incidents of violent crime in Iowa City in 2016. Despite this year's homicides and attempted murders, Matherly said he suspects 2017 won't be much different.

'I will tell you that I sense that our quality of life and our crime rate remains fairly consistent here,' he said. 'We're considered a safe city. One robbery, one homicide, one serious assault is too much. We work daily to make sure to try to prevent things from happening. When they do, we take actions to make sure the victim is taken care of and justice is sought.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com