Iowa Court of Appeals affirms two Cerro Gordo County criminal sentencings

DES MOINES — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld convictions in two Cerro Gordo County criminal cases:

== A Creston man convicted of robbery in Cerro Gordo County has lost an appeal of his case. Randol Garcia was charged with first-degree robbery after an incident in the early morning house of June 21st 2023 where he committed a robbery and serious assault against a man along US Highway 65 and committed theft of a transport motor vehicle. Garcia entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors, pleading guilty to second-degree robbery and being sentenced to ten years in prison. Garcia appealed his sentence, alleging that the district court abused its discretion in sentencing him to prison time, stating that as a juvenile at the time of the crime, the court failed to fully consider mitigating factors when formulating the court’s sentencing decision. The Iowa Court of Appeals in their ruling this week found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s sentencing decision. 

== A Clear Lake man has lost his appeal of a domestic abuse assault sentence. 53-year-old Jason Tyer was arrested after an incident in August 2023 where he was accused of assaulting a woman by hitting her in the face and head, causing the victim to lose consciousness, with Tyer allegedly threatening to kill the victim. Tyer pleaded guilty to domestic abuse assault third or subsequent offense, a Class D felony, with Tyer being sentenced to a five year prison term with an order that he serve all five years before being eligible for parole or work release. Iowa law states that for most felony convictions, the court must impose a sentence of confinement for an indeterminate term, and Tyer contended that because the court ordered him to serve a minimum sentence that was identical to the maximum term allowed by law that the court imposed a determinate sentence in violation of the law. The Iowa Court of Appeals in its ruling affirming the sentence stated because the order sentencing Tyer stated that he serve a term of no more than five years in prison with a minimum sentence of five years that it complies with the law.