Conviction Upheld In Domestic Assault Case

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the 2019 conviction of a Dubuque man for domestic assault. 41 year old Lafayette Dean was found guilty in July 2019 following a bench trial on counts of felony domestic assault impeding airflow causing bodily injury, a lesser-included charge of domestic assault and assault causing serious bodily injury, a serious misdemeanor. Dean was sentenced to five years in prison. Dean argued the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the conviction. However, the appellate court ruled incriminating statements and admissions made by Dean to officers, together with photographs depicting a mark on the woman’s neck as well as supporting testimony about the injury from the woman’s daughter and a deputy sheriff, amounted to substantial evidence to support his conviction.