Individuals charged with marijuana possession in Linn County who don’t have a criminal record may be eligible for the county’s new marijuana diversion program. However, it’s unclear whether or not the program will address the county’s racial disparities for marijuana arrests. Linn County announced the marijuana diversion program was on Dec. 28, and it went […]
Linn County Attorney
Jerry Burns sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Michelle Martinko in 1979

Jerry Burns, the man convicted earlier this year of first-degree murder in the 1979 killing of Michelle Martinko, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in addition to paying $150,000 in restitution to the Martinko family. His request for a new trial was also denied on Friday. “This moment has […]
Michelle Martinko’s murder ‘haunted’ the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Now, her suspected killer is set to go on trial.

Dec. 19, 2018. Like every year, local news stations ran anniversary pieces describing the cold case of Michelle Martinko, an 18-year-old woman stabbed to death in Cedar Rapids in 1979. The facts of the case were recounted. A tip line scrolled across the bottom of the screen. The weather report would be next, and Martinko’s story would be […]
Linn County will pay $285,000 to a man wrongly arrested because of a photo on Facebook

Linn County announced on Wednesday it is paying $285,000 to settle a federal lawsuit against the county and County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden. Joseph McBride had filed the lawsuit earlier this month, claiming that his rights had been violated when Vander Sanden signed an arrest warrant containing false information that led to McBride being arrested and jailed for two months.
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Man wrongly arrested for robbery because he was Facebook friends with other suspects sues Linn County

On Wednesday, Joseph McBride filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Linn County and Jerry Vander Sanden, the county attorney, violated his rights by having him arrested and jailed last year for a robbery committed in Cedar Rapids in January 2017. McBride spent approximately two months in custody, before all charges against him were dropped. […]
Grand jury will not indict Cedar Rapids police officer in shooting

A Linn County grand jury will not indict Cedar Rapids Police Officer Lucas Jones following the Nov. 1 shooting that left Jerime “Danky” Mitchell paralyzed, according to a statement made by Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden at a public press conference on Tuesday. The grand jury heard the case Monday, reviewing information from the […]
Grand jury to review Cedar Rapids police shooting

A grand jury will be convened to determine whether criminal charges are warranted following the use of deadly force by Cedar Rapids Police Officer Lucas Jones on Nov. 1, which left Jerime “Danky” Mitchell paralyzed. The decision, announced in a Friday press release by Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden, came after the Iowa Division […]