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Kelley expected to plead guilty
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · January 18, 2018
A West Branch man last week signed an agreement to plead guilty to the attempted murder of a woman in October 2016.
Michael Thomas Kelley, now 41, and both prosecuting and defense attorneys signed a plea agreement Jan. 10. Sentencing is set for 10 a.m. Feb. 2; he faces up to 25 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Laura Roan, prosecuting the case at the request of the Cedar County Attorney, said she will withhold comment on her reaction to Kelley’s change of plea until he makes his formal plea in court on Feb. 2.
“He has the right to change his mind,” Roan said. “It’s probably best to wait until the ink’s dry.”
The 36-year-old victim finished giving a deposition on Jan. 9 and Kelley made his decision soon after that.
Roan said she believes the victim will give a statement to the court at the Feb. 2 hearing. The judge could sentence Kelley that day or set a later date.
In the written plea agreement, Kelley states that he will plead guilty to the Class B felony, which requires him to serve 17 years in prison before his first parole hearing, Roan said. Other charges would be dropped. The charges against Kelly originally included willful injury — causing serious injury, a Class C felony that carried up to 10 years in prison, and domestic abuse assault with intent to inflect serious injury, an aggravated misdemeanor. In January 2017, the prosecution filed amended charges, adding attempted murder, neglect of a dependent person, and child endangerment.
The agreement states that if Kelley does not plead guilty on Feb. 2, the prosecution may bring additional charges, “including but not limited to sexual abuse in the first degree, a Class A felony.”
A Class A felony carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility for parole or probation, according to Iowa’s criminal code. The prosecution last month updated its list of witnesses to include two Department of Criminal Investigation Laboratory Criminologists, one from the Crime Scene Team and a second from the DNA Section; physicians from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Mercy Speciality Clinics; a representative from Cedar County Jail to discuss Kelley’s phone calls; and DCI Special Agent Derrick Reisen.
The case had been set for a 9 a.m. May 4 final pretrial, followed by a jury trial to begin 9 a.m. May 21. The trial was expected to take five days.
Kelley is defended by Joel Andrew Walker. Walker did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Kelley was arrested after he called police in October 2016 about a 35-year-old woman laying beaten in his bedroom in the 600 block of West Orange Street. The woman was admitted to a hospital in critical condition, then released after two weeks to start physical therapy.
Kelley is currently being held at Cedar County Jail on $100,000 bond.
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