–The man accused of killing an Algona Police Officer last month has entered a plea of not guilty and is requesting a speedy trial.
43-year-old Kyle Lou Ricke has entered a written plea of Not Guilty to a charge of 1st Degree Murder in connection with the shooting death of Police Officer Kevin Cram on September 13th.
An arraignment hearing had been scheduled for Monday morning, but court documents show Ricke submitted the written plea on Friday. Online court records show a pretrial conference has been scheduled for November 14th in Kossuth County District Court. If there are no delays in the case, trial has been scheduled to begin on December 12th.
In the early evening hours of September 13th, Officer Cram was attempting to serve an arrest warrant for Ricke out of Palo Alto County on a charge of 3rd Degree Harassment, when the suspect allegedly retrieved a gun and opened fire.
Ricke fled the scene, and was apprehended near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota later that evening after an extensive search that involved law enforcement agencies from Iowa and Minnesota. If convicted on the murder charge, Ricke would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
