Iowa Supreme Court upholds kidnapping conviction, sentence of Meservey man
MESERVEY — The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the kidnapping and willful injury convictions and prison sentences of a Meservey man, but they have ordered the case sent back to district court to resolve an issue regarding restitution.
43-year-old Charles Albright was found guilty in August 2017 of first-degree kidnapping and willful injury causing bodily injury. He was accused of holding a woman against her will in Meservey for up to 14 hours in October 2016. Court records stated she was punched, cut, shocked and bit repeatedly by a dog.
Albright was sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity for parole on the kidnapping charge, with an additional five years in prison on the willful injury conviction.
The Iowa Supreme Court in their ruling today disagreed with Albright’s claims that there was insufficient evidence to support his kidnapping conviction and that he was prejudiced when the court instructed the jury on a lesser included charge of second-degree kidnapping. They also disagreed with his claims that his trial counsel was ineffective.
The court agreed with Albright’s claim that the district court erred in ordering him to pay restitution without first considering his reasonable ability to pay. The court remanded the case back to district court to order restitution in the proper manner as outlined in the Iowa Code.