116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401

Trish Mehaffey
Reporter covering state and federal courts, and whatever legal issues come my way. I also provide live coverage of criminal trials on Twitter @tmehaffey and welcome comments and questions from readers during the trials. Outside of work I love movies, tennis and my Kansas State Wildcats! Go Cats! Stay informed with the Public Safety newsletter.
Latest Articles by Trish Mehaffey
Crime and Courts Nov. 29, 2022 3:22 pm121d ago
Prosecutors dismiss voluntary manslaughter charge against Cedar Rapids man who fatally shot another in his home during a fight. Iowa’s “Stand your ground” law was determining factor.
Crime and Courts Nov. 28, 2022 6:52 pm121d ago
His lawyer argues he can’t be penalized for criticizing prosecutor’s job performance
Crime and Courts Nov. 26, 2022 6:00 am125d ago
An Iowa City doctor says her clinic was ‘forced“ into bankruptcy because of the ‘aggressive actions’ of lawyers representing an infant’s parents who sued the clinic and a hospital for negligence.
Crime and Courts Nov. 27, 2022 11:51 am123d ago
Prosecutors say felony gun crimes have tripled since 2019 in Linn and Johnson counties. They believe the jump is the result of relax gun laws and because some individuals are choosing to resolve their differences with violence.
Crime and Courts Nov. 21, 2022 7:20 pm128d ago
A Swisher man charged with driving his pickup through protesters in downtown Cedar Rapids in June wants his trial moved out of Linn County because of extensive pretrial publicity.
Community Nov. 29, 2022 1:23 pm121d ago
Johnson County hospice walk and drive-through holiday lights display officially opens on Thanksgiving. All admission proceeds benefit Bird House Hospice.
Crime and Courts Nov. 18, 2022 5:54 pm132d ago
Brandon Lee impersonated a police officer to gain entry to their home
Crime and Courts Nov. 18, 2022 3:41 pm132d ago
Cedar Rapids woman charged with first-degree and robbery for conspiring and aiding Davenport man who fatally shot Cordal Lewis in January.
Crime and Courts Nov. 18, 2022 2:26 pm132d ago
The trial for Jeremy Goodale, charged with killing his Spanish teacher in Fairfield, has been reset for May 15 in Scott County. The other teen charged, Willard Miller, will be tried March 6 in Pottawatomie County.
Crime and Courts Nov. 18, 2022 5:00 am132d ago
NEWSTRACK: The second-degree murder trial of Joshua Conklin, 29, of Cedar Rapids, is now set for Jan. 31 in Linn County District Court. He is accused in the 2019 slaying of a Cedar Rapids man staged to look like a suicide.
Crime and Courts Nov. 18, 2022 4:01 pm132d ago
A Linn County jury took less than 90 minutes to convict Dimione Walker of first-degree murder in the April 10 fatal shooting of Michael Valentine inside the Taboo club in downtown Cedar Rapids. He reacted by smiling and almost laughing as the verdict was read.
Crime and Courts Nov. 17, 2022 3:59 pm133d ago
Follow Gazette Reporter Trish Mehaffey’s live coverage of Dimione Walker murder trial.
Crime and Courts Nov. 16, 2022 4:12 pm134d ago
The defense called police officers to the witness stand as it started its case in the Dimione Walker murder trial. Police officers testified that the Cedar Rapids man Walker is accused of killing at the Taboo club was a suspect in a 2016 gun incident in which Walker was injured.
Crime and Courts Nov. 16, 2022 8:56 am134d ago
An autopsy showed Tuesday that Michael Valentine was shot five times and died from multiple gunshot injuries. Walker told police he wasn’t at the club that night and denied knowing Valentine.
Crime and Courts Nov. 15, 2022 5:58 pm135d ago
Dimione Walker denied to police that he was the man in surveillance video of the fatal shooting of Michael Valentine in April inside the Taboo club in Cedar Rapids. He also denied knowing Valentine or shooting him in self-defense.