Trish Mehaffey

A judge, in two separate pretrial hearings Friday, said trials for Huston Danker and Karina Cooper, both accused of killing Cooper’s husband in 2021, will go forward. Danker will be tried Jan. 21 in Johnson County and Cooper on Feb. 25 in Linn County.

A Cedar Rapids man who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol was resentenced this week to time served -- about 11 months in federal prison. He was originally sentenced to 30 months before an appeals court tossed out an obstruction charge.

A Johnson County jury Tuesday found Renard Winfield Jr., of Gary, Ind., guilty of first-degree murder in what prosecutors called a revenge plot where Winfield posed as a woman to lure Tommy Curry, of Iowa City, to his death. The jury deliberated nearly four hours on Tuesday.

Renard Winfield Jr., of Gary, Ind., told police during an interview, he didn’t know or kill Tommy Curry, 31, of Iowa City, in April of 2021. He also denied being in Iowa at the time, even though investigators had evidence he was in Iowa City on April 28, when Curry was fatally shot.

Iowa City police investigators testify about numerious pieces of evidence, including cell phone data, surveillance videos and a video made by Renard Winfield, which they say showed he lured Tommy Curry to his death.

An Iowa City police officer testified Thursday some of the ammunition used to kill an Iowa City man is not typically found at crime scenes. Five bullets were “unique and more powerful,“ and able to penetrate metal.

A prosecutor says the fatal shooting of Tommy Curry in 2021 is about revenge -- “a dish best served cold.” Renard Winfield Jr., 32, of Gary, Ind., is accused of posing as a woman on a dating app to lure Curry, of Iowa City, to his death.

A Cedar Rapids man, who had history of sex abuse and sex offender registry offenses, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for soliciting an individual he believed was a 14-year-old boy, but it was actually a police officer posing online as a teen.

A retired Linn County chief public defender who died of a heart attack in June was honored last month for his work as a board member for the RISE program, which helps individuals reintegrate back into the community after completing a prison term. The computer center was dedicated in his name.

“We’re just broken ... destroyed,“ said the mother of a 22-year-old who was killed in a crash caused by two teens drag racing in 2023. She hoped the 18-year-old sentenced Monday would say he was sorry, but he didn’t.

A Marion man, who pleaded to lesser charges, was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing an 11-year-old child in 2022. The girl, now 14, said she still has panic attacks and depression and doesn’t trust anyone, especially men.

A 16-year-old Cedar Rapids boy pleaded guilty to shooting a 17-year-old last year during a basketball game in Marion’s Hanna Park. He fired 11 times at the teen.

Federal sentencing for a former UI IT systems lead, who stole a California man’s identity 35 years ago when they worked together at a hotdog cart in New Mexico, has been reset to Jan. 31. He faces up to 32 years in prison.

A judge gave a Cedar Rapids man with a lengthy history of assaults less prison time for trying to kill ex-girlfriend because of his age, back issues and because the judge said he didn’t believe the man was at risk to reoffend.

A Linn County jury, deliberating for less than two hours Thursday, convicted a Hiawatha man in the February kidnapping, torturing and stranglulation death of 20-year-old Melody Hoffman of Marion.