Alford plea for two suspected in Iowa robbery

Local News

September 6, 2010

By Emily Burton Register News Writer The Richmond Register Mon Sep 06, 2010, 10:00 AM EDT

RICHMOND — Two men accused of an Iowa bank robbery pleaded guilty Thursday in Madison Circuit Court to receiving stolen property less than $10,000, a Class D felony.

Both men entered Alford pleas. By entering an Alford plea, a defendant admits that enough evidence exists for prosecutors to convince a jury the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but does not actually admit to performing the crime of which they are accused.

On Dec. 18, 2009, three men, two from Florida and one from Iowa, were arrested after deputies with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office spotted a black Chevrolet Suburban traveling south on Interstate 75 near Berea. The sheriff’s office had received a call earlier that morning urging deputies to be on the lookout for a black Chevrolet Impala being driven by a black male who had allegedly robbed a bank in Dubuque, Iowa.

Deputies ran the license plate on the Suburban and realized it was expired, performed a traffic stop and arrested Darrell Christopher Moore, 22, of Miami, Michael Bernard Holton, of Pompano Beach, Fla., and Travis Antonio Strowbridge, 23, of Dubuque. They had left the Impala in Galena, Ill., and switched to the Suburban there.

The men had allegedly robbed U.S. Bank tellers Dec. 17, 2009, in Dubuque as they were putting money into the bank’s ATM machine.

A search of the Suburban by law enforcement yielded $45,000 in $20 bills.

Holton and Strowbridge both entered Alford pleas to reduced charges Thursday as part of a plea agreement. Moore is on bond in Iowa.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office is recommending that both Holton and Strowbridge be sentenced to three years in prison.

Moore is scheduled to appear in circuit court for a pretrial conference Sept. 16, where he likely will enter a plea.

A sentencing for Holton and Strowbridge is scheduled for Oct. 14.

All three men were originally charged with receiving stolen property greater than $10,000. Had Holton and Strowbridge been convicted of the original charge, they could have each faced up to 10 years in prison.

Holton and Strowbridge had waived extradition to Iowa, where they faced charges of second-degree robbery, however those charges were dismissed. Moore also was charged, but those charges, too, were dismissed.

Madison County Commonwealth’s Attorney David Smith said new charges might be filed against the men, however, he said no new charges had been filed as of Friday.

A jury trial in the case had been scheduled to start Tuesday.

Emily Burton may be reached at eburton@richmondregister.com or at 624-6694. Follow Emily on Twitter at, RR_EBurton@twitter.com

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