The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the 1st Degree Robbery conviction in Shelby County, of Chad Dean Meek, of rural Defiance, who robbed the Irwin County Store during the late night hours of May 25th, 2015. Meek was 36 when crime occurred. His case went to trial in May, 2016 and a jury found him guilty. Meek was sentenced to 25-years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 percent of that time being served.

The Appeals Court also affirmed the conviction of Barbara Kay Svoboda, who had challenged her guilty plea to forgery, with regard to the altering of a rental agreement in Guthrie County. She has also faced six six felony charges in two previously filed cases but reached a plea agreement with the State in three of the cases, and agreed to plead guilty to three felony charges associated with Identity Theft, 2nd Degree Theft, and Forgery. In the Forgery case, she claimed her guilty plea was “defective” because the district court did not ensure she understood the nature of the forgery charge and did not review her right to have an attorney appointed to represent her at trial. The Appeals Court upheld the District Court’s ruling in her case.

And, in an Adair County case, the Appeals Court vacated the conviction of Jordan Campbell and remanded the case for further proceedings, Campbell had appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence and subsequent conviction for Possession of a Controlled Substance with the Intent to Deliver, and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. He argued the traffic stop on Interstate 80 and detention of him by an Iowa State Patrol Trooper that subsequently resulted in the discovery of evidence against him, were unconstitutional, based on the duration of the stop beyond the time necessary to complete the reason for the stop. He also contended the drug-dog sniff of his vehicle without a warrant was unconstitutional.  The Appeals Court in its ruling, agreed the roadside duration of the stop was unconstitutional (in violation of the 4th Amendment), and the lower court should have suppressed the evidence of contraband in Campbell’s vehicle.