Men Connected with Fatal Officer-involved Shooting Demand Speedy Trial

By Vanessa Miller, Reporter

Law enforcement officers continue their Investigation of an officer involved shooting Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 that began at trailer C7 at the Breckenridge Estates mobile home park just east of Iowa City. Two state agents with the Division of Narcotics Enforcement who were assigned to the Johnson County Drug Task Force were conducting undercover operations when an altercation ensued and shots were fired killing one person and sending another to the hospital on Thursday night. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Tools

By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Sep 5, 2012 at 11:12 AM CDT

Story Updated: Sep 5, 2012 at 5:43 PM CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa - All three of the men arrested following a fatal officer-involved shooting near Iowa City last month have demanded a speedy trial and are scheduled to go before a jury on Nov. 6.

Demarco Dudley, 22, his brother Norman Dudley, 20, and John Mulbah, 22, all have entered not guilty pleas to charges connected to alleged illegal drug activity or a transaction involving undercover narcotics agents that went awry on Aug. 16.

Demarco Dudley, charged with first-degree robbery, has been the only one arrested in connection with the shooting, as investigators said he was one of two men who emerged armed with a club or rod during a narcotics transaction in the Breckenridge Estates mobile home park.

Two undercover agents with the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement showed up at Trailer C7 about 7 p.m. Aug. 16 and met Ivan Hardemon, 24, outside, according to Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness. Once inside, Dudley and another man are accused of emerging with their faces covered, according to Lyness.

Hardemon pulled a handgun, she reported, and he asked the masked men to pat down the two officers. Agent Daniel Stepleton had a gun tucked behind his back, and when one of the masked men found it, Stepleton leaned against the wall to keep him from removing it, according to Lyness.

Hardemon touched his gun to Stepleton’s head, Lyness reported, and Stepleton tried to push the weapon away while reaching back for his own. Lyness said he fired four shots, hitting Hardemon in the chest and arm.

Demarco Dudley also was hit twice in the arm, according to Lyness.

Hardemon and the other men ran from the trailer and fled across the street to an empty lot, where Hardemon collapsed and died, according to Lyness. Dudley made it away from the scene and was treated for his injuries at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Dudley is being held at the Johnson County Jail on a $100,000 bond. Mulbah, who faces a felony controlled substance violation, is being held on a $52,500 bond, and Norman Dudley, also facing a controlled substance violation, is being held on a $25,000 bond.

Lyness said authorities are still investigating the incident and the shooting that followed, and she said more charges could be filed.