SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa — A Dickinson County jury has found Kyle Ricke guilty of first-degree murder in the death of an Algona police officer.
After two days of trial, jurors came to the conclusion that Ricke intentionally killed officer Kevin Cram in September 2023.
The state argued that it had overwhelming evidence against Ricke, consisting of dash camera footage, officer Cram's body camera footage and a 911 call from Ricke's mother.
"He gunned him down," Scott Brown, assistant attorney general stated in closing arguments. "That's what happened on September 13 of 2023. Kyle Ricke gunned down Officer Kevin Cram for doing his job."
The defense argued in its closing arguments that the video did not show what was going through Ricke's mind when he pulled the trigger.
"Mr. Ricke was not thinking clearly, he was not forming memories accurately," said Barbara Westphal, Ricke's defense attorney. "Mr. Ricke did not remember what happened in that 60 seconds."
Ricke's mom testified on Tuesday that his actions were out of character, the defense using her testimony with hopes of showing it was not premeditated.
"If he had been given a chance to think about it, he never would've fired a gun in front of his mother and he never would've attempted to take his own life in front of his mother," Westphal said.
Brown stated after the verdict that he was satisfied with the outcome, but no amount of justice will be able to bring officer Cram back.
"You know they [family] still have to live with the hurt and the pain that go with that," Brown said. "This is a step in the healing process for them is holding the person accountable, I don't know that it really ever closes it for them."
Both the state and the defense rested their cases on Wednesday afternoon. The state's witness list included agents from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) as well as medical examiners.
Evan Thompson, an Iowa DCI special agent, said on the stand Ricke had claimed he "blacked out" the incident. However, Thompson testified that he did not believe him.
"Whenever people are not truthful or they blackout, it's not because they actually blackout," Thompson said. "It's just because they don't want to talk about it, when somebody's deceptive or they make up things like that, I would consider that being un-cooperative."
On Tuesday, Ricke's mom took the stand. She was at the scene when Cram was shot.
"I remember that I was standing there talking to officer Cram," said Irene Ricke. "I felt someone come up beside me, who I assumed was my son, then I heard two pops and he went down."
The defense argued Ricke's actions were not premeditated and therefore did not meet the qualifications for a first-degree murder verdict. On the stand, Irene claimed the behavior was unusual for her son.
"That's how I know he snapped, because it's not in his character to do something like this," Irene said.
The verdict comes almost a year after Cram attempted to arrest Ricke, only to be shot and killed.
Cram worked in law enforcement for ten years, first with the Nora Springs Police Department followed by the Algona Police Department.
"Police officer Kevin Cram died because he answered the call to serve. Algona police officer Kevin Cram died because he chose to be a beacon of light," Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens said in September. "Algona police officer Kevin Cram died because he was willing to stand in the gap between good and evil. Algona police officer Kevin Cram died a hero."
A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.