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State of Iowa
v.
Travis Lyle Starr
Appellee
State of Iowa
Appellant
Travis Lyle Starr
Attorney for the Appellee
Thomas J. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General
Attorney for the Appellant
John L. Dirks
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, James B. Malloy, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Greer, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Potterfield, S.J. Opinion by Potterfield, S.J. (8 pages)
Travis Starr challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for first-degree harassment. He argues there is not substantial evidence he had the specific intent to threaten, intimidate, or alarm a police officer. He also argues he had a “legitimate purpose” in telling the officer he would kill him. OPINION HOLDS: Because the jury was not instructed to consider whether Starr’s level of intoxication impacted his ability to form specific intent, and because the instructions as given are the law of the case, we do not reach the merits of Starr’s claim that the jury should have acquitted him based on his intoxication and resulting incapacity to form the requisite intent. And there is substantial evidence Starr’s statement was a true threat and, therefore, did not have a legitimate purpose. We affirm.
