Description: Sioux City, Iowa criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

Joseph Cruz, age 20, was accused of killing Anthony Willams, age 19, and Carlos Ray Aguirre, age 21, on October 29, 2022.

Cruz pled not guilty.

Iowa Code § 707.3 provides:

1. A person commits murder in the second degree when the person commits murder which is not murder in the first degree.
2. Murder in the second degree is a class "B" felony. However, notwithstanding section 902.9, subsection 1, paragraph "b", the maximum sentence for a person convicted under this section shall be a period of confinement of not more than fifty years.
3. For purposes of determining whether a person should register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of chapter 692A, the fact finder shall make a determination as provided in section 692A.126.

Outcome: Guilty on one count and not guilty on the second.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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