Jury starts deliberations in Stanley Donahue trial

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Closing arguments finished Monday and the jury is now deciding if a man shot a Linn County Deputy. Stanley Donahue is accused of robbing a Casey’s store in Coggon and shooting Deputy Will Halverson seven times. Deputy Halverson was responding to the initial call on the night of June 20, 2021.

Police said Donahue ran away after shooting Halverson, prompting a 12-hour manhunt across Eastern Iowa. The search ended when a TV-9 crew spotted Donahue walking along Highway 13 near Coggon the next day.

The jury received the case at 1:30 pm Monday afternoon. They’re now reviewing testimonies from both the prosecution and the defense.

That testimony and video shown throughout the trial was part of Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks’ closing arguments in court earlier Monday- saying the evidence is clear that Donahue is guilty.

The defense brought in a psychology professor, to try and dispute claims from eyewitnesses, saying it’s possible Donahue is not the man responsible.

However, during the prosecution’s closing arguments, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks repeated that Deputy Halverson had identified Donahue as the person who shot him.

“Seconds before this cold and calculated act, Deputy Will Halverson had looked into the face, into the eyes, of the man that had just tried to take his life. He testified in this trial. We asked him who did it. He said it was the defendant, we asked him how sure he was He said 100%,” said Maybanks.

“You can reasonably think it’s possible that it was Stanley Donahue in the Caseys while also thinking it’s reasonably possible it was not. Stanley Donahue and the Caseys. And if you can do that, there’s reasonable doubt on the identity issue that would require a not guilty verdict,” said Peter Stiefel, Defense Attorney.

Since the jury didn’t reach a verdict Monday they’ll reconvene Tuesday.

If he’s convicted on all 10 charges, Donahue could face up to 112 years in prison.

Copyright 2023 KCRG. All rights reserved.