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Case No. 19-1129

For summaries from opinions prior to August, 2018, view PDF versions here

State of Iowa
v.
Thomas M. Yarges Jr.

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Thomas M. Yarges Jr.

Attorney for the Appellee

Martha E. Trout, Assistant Attorney General

Attorney for the Appellant

Robert P. Ranschau, Assistant Appellate Defender

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
19-1129
Date Published:
Oct 07, 2020
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hansen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (8 pages)

            Thomas Yarges pled guilty to third-degree criminal mischief, two counts of driving while barred, and stalking.  Yarges asks that we vacate his convictions, sentences, and judgments and remand his case for further proceedings based on his claim the district court improperly applied his plea deal.  He frames his case under a theory of ineffective assistance of counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: With little information in the record about the interplay between two written plea agreements, we do not know if Yarges got the benefit of his bargain or if his counsel should have objected at sentencing.  Thus, we are unable to rule on this ineffective-assistance claim at this stage of the proceeding.  We affirm Yarges’s convictions and sentences but preserve his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for possible postconviction-relief proceedings. 

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