Cedar Rapids man enters Alford plea to lesser charges in 2025 shooting case

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - A Cedar Rapids man originally charged with attempted murder has entered an Alford plea to four charges stemming from a February 2025 shooting.

34-year-old Ray Robertson Jr., entered an Alford plea to willful injury causing serious injury, second-degree robbery, going armed with intent, and fifth-degree theft. An Alford plea allows a defendant to accept a conviction and punishment without admitting fault, while agreeing that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict.

Robertson was originally charged with attempted murder, willful injury causing serious injury, second-degree robbery, going armed with intent, possession of a firearm as a felon, use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a crime, person ineligible to carry dangerous weapons, and fifth-degree theft.

On February 7, 2025, Cedar Rapids police found a 45-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the forehead in the alley of the 500 block between 8th and 9th Avenue SW, near Jim’s Foods. The man was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in critical condition. He remained in a coma before regaining consciousness and is left with permanent injuries.

According to the complaint, surveillance footage recorded an argument between two people in the alley followed by three gunshots.

Robertson told police he and the man had been at a residence less than a block from Jim’s Foods before the shooting. Robertson claimed the two had used drugs before a confrontation in which the man called him a slur and attacked him with an ax.

According to the complaint, Robertson admitted he didn’t recall firing at Clark but accepted responsibility since no one else was in the alley at the time.

Robertson was taken into custody April 1, 2025. He was previously convicted of possession of a firearm by a drug user in federal court and a felony drug charge in Illinois.

Robertson’s sentencing is scheduled for March 25 at 2:30 p.m.