CEDAR RAPIDS – Jonathan Curtis Youngbear, age 20, from the Meskwaki Nation Settlement, Iowa, has been charged with murder in “Indian Country.” The charge is contained in a Complaint filed on April 8, 2014, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Complaint alleges that, on or about February 24, 2014, Youngbear murdered a person on the Meskwaki Nation Settlement near Tama, Iowa. The Tama County Communications Center received a 911 call that day reference a stabbing at 1695 340th Street Tama, Iowa which is located on the Meskwaki Nation Settlement. The Meskwaki Police Department, the Tama County Sheriff’s Office, and the Toledo Police Department responded to the emergency call. Upon arrival, law enforcement found 17-year-old Severn Daniel Jefferson unresponsive. It appeared to responding officers that Jefferson had been stabbed in the chest with a knife. Jefferson later died.
If convicted, Youngbear faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.
Youngbear appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Youngbear’s next appearance for preliminary and detention hearings is set for April 14, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
SUBJECT IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
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