Rockford man to again plead guilty to assault, drug charges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

A Rockford man whose guilty plea conviction on assault and drug charges was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court will plead guilty again, according to court documents.

If the judge follows the county attorney’s recommendation, Jason Gene Weitzel, age 40, will be sentenced to up to five years in prison plus various fines and fees, with credit for the time he has already served.

Weitzel pleaded guilty in May 2016 to charges of domestic abuse assault, a Class D felony; second offense possession of methamphetamine and carrying weapons, aggravated misdemeanors; and operating while intoxicated, a serious misdemeanor. A charge of intimidation with a dangerous weapon was dismissed as part of the plea.

He was sentenced to serve not more than nine years in prison and ordered to pay fines and restitution.

He appealed his conviction and sentence, however, arguing that he had not been made aware of an additional 35 percent court surcharge that would be applied to his fines.

On a 7-2 vote in May 2017, the Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and in December the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the reversal after holding oral arguments in Cedar Falls in November.

The appeals courts ruled that Weitzel’s guilty plea was not truly voluntary because he didn’t have all the information he needed to make an informed decision.

“The court failed to inform Weitzel about the 35 percent surcharges,” the Supreme Court wrote. “The court also failed to determine he understood what the surcharges meant. Weitzel therefore was uninformed of the true maximum possible punishment.”

The case was sent back to Floyd County District Court, where County Attorney Rachel Ginbey moved to restore all the charges that could have been filed against Weitzel in relation to the incident, as well as the charge that was dropped in the plea agreement.

A jury trial was set for March 22, but on Tuesday at a pretrial conference the attorneys in the case informed the judge that a plea agreement had been reached and that Weitzel was filing a written plea of guilty.

District Court Judge Peter Newell ordered a plea hearing for March 20.

According to a written plea filed Tuesday, Weitzel is pleading guilty to domestic abuse assault impeding the normal breathing or circulation of blood (choking) resulting in bodily injury, a Class D felony; possession of methamphetamine, an aggravated misdemeanor; carrying weapons, an aggravated misdemeanor; and operating while intoxicated, a serious misdemeanor.

The charge of threat of terrorism, a Class D felony, will be dismissed.

The county attorney is recommending up to a 5-year sentence on the assault charge, up to a 2-year sentence on the possession charge, up to 2 years in prison on the weapons charge, and 2 days in jail on the OWI charge.

The recommendation is that all the sentences be served concurrently, meaning the sentence would be for a total of up to 5 years.

In the written plea agreement, Weitzel says he recognizes that the judge does not have to follow the sentencing recommendations and could sentence him up to the maximum penalty on each charge, which if served consecutively could be up to 10 years.

According to court documents, Weitzel was arrested March 6, 2016, after a series of events that started with Weitzel allegedly punching his wife in the head and shoulders, waving and shooting a handgun outdoors, then later smashing his wife’s head into a wall and a pipe and choking her.

Floyd County sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic violence call, but Weitzel had already left the home.

A six-hour search that involved tracking a cellphone, Floyd County deputies, six Iowa Patrol troopers and a state Patrol airplane eventually located Weitzel between Nora Springs and Rockford.

During a 2-to-3-mile chase, deputies allegedly observed Weitzel throw something from his vehicle, which was recovered and identified as two glass pipes and a small baggie filled with what was later identified as meth.

When he was stopped he was allegedly found in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun and was field-tested and found to be operating under the influence, according to the criminal complaint.