Cedar County Murder Case Moved To Dubuque County

A judge has decided that a high-profile murder trial will be moved to Dubuque County because of pretrial publicity in Cedar County. Iowa District Court Judge Mark Lawson ordered the shift to Dubuque County for the first-degree trial of 21 year old Milton Serrano Jr., of Muscatine. Serrano is accused in the stabbing death of 19 year old Chantz Stevens of Wilton during a large outdoor party in July in rural Cedar County. Lawson ruled that the defendant has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that he could not receive a fair trial in Cedar County. Lawson continued the trial until August 24th to accommodate the criminal docket in Dubuque County.