CEDAR RAPIDS – All five men charged in a 2017 marijuana robbery that led to the fatal shooting of Dylan Plotz in Coggon were sentenced Monday to over six or more years in prison.
Adriana Ritchard, Plotz’s sister of Cedar Rapids, making the only victim’s impact statement presented in open court, said she lost her brother and best friend Feb. 1, 2017. She said she hasn’t gotten better over time, only learning to ‘live with the pain.”
Her brother’s death changed many things for their family and her own life, Ritchard said. The worst part was having to identify the 20-year-old’s body and seeing his face, which was shot at close range during the robbery. Ritchard said the ‘pain and anguish will haunt her forever.”
Other victim statements were submitted, along with support letters for each defendant, to the court.
U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sentenced each defendant separately Monday. Families and friends of each man packed the courtroom during all the hearings.
During morning sentencings, another courtroom was opened for overflow. Those individuals couldn’t see the proceedings but could hear them. The judge decided on sentencing:
‘ Chase Zerba, 21, of Coggon, convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and using, carrying, brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to over seven years.
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