Two People Accused Of Killing A Car-Theft Suspect Will Have Trial In January
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Two people accused in the shooting death of a man suspected of stealing a friend’s car are scheduled for trial next year in western Iowa.
Pottawattamie County District Court records say 25-year-old Jonathan Echtinaw and 23-year-old Carissa Kendall, have pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. They’re scheduled to go on trial Jan. 7 in Council Bluffs. Nebraska court records say they live in Omaha.
Echtinaw is accused of shooting 18-year-old Ethan Edgar, of Hutchinson, Kansas, on May 6. Authorities say Echtinaw, Kendall and other friends of a woman who’d reported the car’s theft to Omaha police went looking for it.
They spotted at a Council Bluffs gas station.
Authorities say Kendall stopped her vehicle behind the stolen car to help block it, and Echtinaw opened fire when Edgar put the car into reverse and rammed Kendall’s vehicle.
Drug Dealer Given 15 Years In Prison
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a Cedar Rapids drug dealer with a long criminal record has been given nearly 15 years in prison.
Records say 40-year-old Paul Hoff was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids to 178 months behind bars and to five years of supervised release after he leaves custody. He’d pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale and possession of firearms as part of his drug trafficking.
He was arrested in February after trying to flee officers, who later found meth and two handguns in Hoff’s car.
Prosecutors say a judge described Hoff as dangerous and out of
control. Hoff’s previously been convicted of assault, thefts, interference with official acts, burglary, driving while intoxicated, escape, disorderly conduct for punching a man in the face, drug trafficking, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Sentencing Delayed For Wisconsin Man Charged With Manslaughter
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) – The sentencing of a Wisconsin man found guilty of manslaughter in Iowa has been delayed a week.
Nineteen-year-old Dalton Adam, of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, was convicted Nov. 4 of voluntary manslaughter. He’d been charged with first-degree murder, but the jury convicted him of the lesser crime.
Winneshiek County court records say Adam’s sentencing was set for Tuesday but has been rescheduled for Tuesday next week.
He and his friend Jacob Seelinger were charged after the July 2018 attack on 46-year-old David Hansen outside Hansen’s home in Decorah.
Seelinger’s been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to up to 50 years in prison.
