Trish Mehaffey

Ethan Orton pleaded to two charges of first-degree murder, just before his trial was to start Tuesday. He admitted to stabbing parents with a knife and then grabbing an ax and killing his mother who was still alive in 2021. He faces two life sentences.

Trial is reset to April for one Fairfield teen accused of beating their Spanish teacher with a baseball bat in 2021. The trial is expected to last 10 days.

A prosecutor plans to ask a judge to stack sentences for a Chicago man who made nasty comments to a deputy after he was convicted. If the sentences are stacked for Stanley Donahue, he faces 107 years in prison for robbing a Casey’s and shooting the deputy.

A Marengo man pleaded to lesser charges and was sentenced to 15 years for a fatal crash in 2020. He was intoxicated and crossed the centerline on Highway 151 in Walford, striking a vehicle driven by Erik Halvorson, 32, of Cedar Rapids.

A Marion man was convicted for a second time for killing his girlfriend and concealing her body in a roll of carpet. Greg Davis waived a jury trial and a judge found him guilty of a lesser charge, second-degree murder.

New program brings students in Coe’s social and criminal justice program and incarcerated students together to learn from each other.

Stanley Donahue was convicted on all 10 charges for robbing a Casey’s in June 2021 and shooting and seriously injuring a Linn County Sheriff’s Deputy William Halverson. Donahue laughed when the guilty verdicts were read and told Halverson, as he left court, “It should of been worse than it was.”

The jury started deliberations Monday afternoon

Prosecutor said there’s no doubt Stanley Donahue was the man who robbed the Casey’s in Coggon June 20, 2021, and shot the deputy seven times. Defense argued there is reasonable doubt, and repeatedly said Donahue’s brother could be a suspect.

Follow Gazette Reporter Trish Mehaffey’s live coverage from the courtroom

Marshawn Jackson was sentenced to 27 years for fatally shooting Illinois 15-year-old girl during a gun deal. Jackson pleaded to voluntary manslaughter and other charges. This sentence runs consecutively to a five-year sentence for trafficking in stolen weapons.

An Arkansas psychology professor, testifying for Stanley Donahue, who is charged with robbery and attempted murder, says studies show witness reliability is affected by how a line up is conducted, race of witness and suspect and if a weapon is involved.

Join Gazette reporter Trish Mehaffey’s live coverage from the courtroom. The prosecution will wrap up its case Friday and the defense starts this afternoon.

A proposed bill would prevent earned or good time credit from being applied to mandatory mininums for habitual, repeat and violent offenders.

Cedar Rapids man accused of fatally assaulting a woman with a board waived his right to a speedy trial right before his trial was scheduled to begin this week. The trial will be reset.