State of Iowa
v.
Michael Douglas Ahrenholz
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Michael Douglas Ahrenholz
Attorney for the Appellee
Louis S. Sloven, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
R.A. Bartolomei
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, DeDra Schroeder, Judge. SENTENCE VACATED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING. Considered by Tabor, P.J., Greer, J., and Blane, S.J. Opinion by Blane, S.J. (13 pages)
Michael Ahrenholz appeals his prison sentence arguing the sentencing judge considered unproven and unadmitted facts, and the county attorney breached the plea agreement by not advocating for a suspended sentence and by introducing victim impact statements that argued for sentence other than the plea agreement. And he complains about the lack of advanced notice of the victim impact statements. OPINION HOLDS: The prosecutor did not undermine the plea agreement regarding victim impact statements, but did violate the agreement by failing to advocate adequately for its adoption by the court. The court did not consider an unproven fact from the victim impact statements in determining sentence. We vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing before a different judge.