Defense attorney for Mindy Jones files Motion for New Trial, cites “zero evidence”; Hearing now scheduled for February 3
Mindy Jones and Defense Attorney Aaron Hawbaker ...
Defense Attorney Aaron Hawbaker of the State of Iowa Public Defenders Office in Waterloo has filed a Motion for a New Trial on behalf of Mindy Jones, who was found guilty by a jury in Allamakee County District Court nearly a month ago on charges of Arson in the First Degree and Animal Abuse.
Court documents indicate the motion was filed by Hawbaker Tuesday morning, December 10 and a hearing on that motion has now been scheduled for February 3, 2025, the same day Jones was scheduled to be sentenced following the guilty verdict an Allamakee County jury returned in the case stemming from a February 2022 fire in the initial eastside block of Allamakee Street in Waukon that destroyed the building housing Jones’ Tin, Rust & Harmony business, along with an adjacent business building, while also causing damage to other buildings on that same block.
The filed motion states, “The conviction for Arson in the First Degree was contrary to the weight of the evidence” and “When considering a Motion for New Trial, the Court must consider both inculpatory and exculpatory evidence.” By definition, inculpatory evidence is evidence that tends to show a person’s guilt or involvement in an act and can include physical objects, witness testimony, or video surveillance, while exculpatory evidence is defined as any information that supports a defendant’s innocence in a criminal trial.
The motion more specifically states that, in regard to the First Degree Arson conviction, there was “zero evidence” of the following:
• “Any plan of Ms. Jones to destroy her own property. To the contrary, but for Jesse’s (Jese Lewey’s) inability to use the key code to the front door, Ms. Jones would never have been at her business that evening.”
• “How the fire was started.”
• “That any payment from insurance coverage would alleviate Ms. Jones’ debt so as to serve as motive for the alleged act.”
The motion also states, in regard to the conviction on the Animal Abuse charge that “The record is devoid of any evidence that the fire caused the death of the animal at issue.” That fact was recognized by presiding First District Court Judge Laura Parrish following the returned verdict on that charge, and she has allowed both the prosecution and defense additional time to file briefs to be considered regarding a motion for judgment of acquittal on the animal abuse charge, with those briefs scheduled to be filed by December 19.
In summation, the Motion for New Trial read, “The verdicts in both counts are contrary to the weight of the evidence, requiring a new trial be granted Ms. Jones.”
RESISTANCE FILED
Court documents further indicate that two days after the Motion for New Trial was filed, Thursday, December 12, State of Iowa Assistant Attorney General Israel Kodiaga, who was the lead prosecutor in Jones’ November 12-19 arson trial in Allamakee County District Court, filed a Motion for Resistance to the new trial request.
In his Resistance filing Kodiaga cites that “The power to grant a new trial on the ground that the verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence and that a miscarriage of justice may have resulted should be invoked only in exceptional cases in which the evidence preponderates heavily against the verdict.”
In asking the Court to overrule the Motion for a New Trial, Kodiaga further summarizes that, “In the present case, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements necessary for both charges. The verdict was consistent with the weight of the evidence which showed Defendant committed arson in the first degree and that an animal was killed as a result of the fire. The evidence in this case simply does not preponderate (defined as “to be greater in number, influence, or importance”) heavily against the verdict and no miscarriage of justice has resulted from the jury’s verdicts in this case.”
Following the guilty verdict returned November 19 by that Allamakee County jury, Jones was scheduled to be sentenced February 3, 2025 at 1 p.m. in Allamakee County District Court. In another document filed Thursday afternoon, December 12, Judge Parrish ordered that a hearing regarding the Motion for New Trial be scheduled for that same February 3 date and time. Should that Motion for a New Trial be denied during that hearing, Allamakee County Attorney Anthony Gericke says that he anticipates Jones would still be sentenced at that same hearing, as had originally been scheduled.
