DES MOINES – A Mason City man who violently attacked a woman and her car and was later sent to prison after entering guilty pleas lost his appeal in the case.
Brian Nathaniel Smith, age 33, was sentenced this year to two concurrent 5-year prison terms with an additional 30 days after pleading guilty to two counts of willful injury causing bodily injury and assault, respectively. Smith was arrested after police were called on the morning of September 17, 2015 to a North End house and a number of injured persons were discovered. According to Mason City police, at 1:58 AM that morning, an argument was reported near the intersection of 14th Street and North Washington. Officers arrived to find a female lying on the ground near a vehicle that had several slashed tires and a broken windshield in front of 1309 North Washington.
Mason City fire medics were called and transported the female to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.
Police continued to investigate the assault and soon arrested Smith, who lived at 1309 North Washington. He was charged with Willful Injury (D Felony), Criminal Mischief 2nd Degree (D Felony). Additional victims were identified during the investigation and charges were filed on Smith for Willful Injury (D Felony) and Assault Causing Serious Injury (Serious Misdemeanor) connected to the additional victims.
Brian Smith was convicted of two counts of willful injury causing bodily injury and one count of assault, in violation of Iowa Code sections 708.1, 708.2(2), and 708.4(2) (2015). He was sentenced to two indeterminate terms of incarceration not to exceed five years for the willful injury convictions and thirty days in jail for the assault conviction, with all sentences to run concurrent with each other.
On appeal, Smith argued the district court abused its discretion in not granting his request for suspended sentences.
In its decision, the Iowa Courts of Appeals said “Other than mere disagreement with the sentencing court’s decision, Smith does not identify the alleged abuse of discretion. We find none. The district court recognized it had the discretion to select among several sentencing options, considered only relevant factors in imposing sentencing—in particular, the defendant’s extensive criminal history—and did not consider any impermissible factors in imposing sentence. We thus affirm Smith’s sentences.”
