Jury renders verdict in Bibby, Cook trial

Kyle Ocker, Ottumwa Courier, Iowa
·4 min read

Apr. 2—OTTUMWA — A Wapello County jury of six men and six women delivered convictions, reduced charges and an acquittal on Thursday.

The trial of Michael Bibby, 35, and Dalton Cook, 26, both of Ottumwa, concluded with a verdict late Thursday after a day of deliberations. The pair faced charges as part of a botched robbery that turned into a shootout with police in Ottumwa in 2018.

Bibby was found guilty by the jury of attempted murder of former police chief Tom McAndrew, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and willful injury causing serious injury. The jury also found Bibby guilty of assault with intent to cause serious injury of robbery victim Colt Stewart, a lesser offense of the original charge of attempted murder.

The jury acquitted Cook on the charge of attempted murder of McAndrew, but otherwise, the verdict mirrored his co-defendant's. The jury found he was guilty of assault with intent to cause serious injury of Stewart by joint criminal conduct. He was guilty of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and willful injury causing serious injury of Stewart by aiding and abetting.

The two will get separate sentencing hearings on April 19. Bibby faces a sentence of up to 87 years, and Cook faces a sentence of up to 62 years. Both are being held without bond.

Coming into the trial, both Bibby and Cook faced 13 counts. That list was shortened to five after Judge Joel Yates ruled on Tuesday the state didn't have evidence to prove the suspects intended to kill eight of the nine police officers included in charges during the shootout.

That wiped 200 years of potential prison time and eight counts of attempted murder off the table.

A botched armed robbery and ensuing shootout with police on Aug. 3, 2018, is what led to charges for Bibby and Cook. Prosecutors said they were with another man, David Roy White, of Fairfield, when they robbed and burglarized a home at 831 S. Lillian St. in Ottumwa.

There, Bibby shot Stewart in the leg with an AR-15 style rifle, leaving Stewart with serious and lasting injuries. When Stewart came to testify in the trial, he said he is still in pain. He entered the courtroom last week with a hobble and a cane.

From there, the three men went west toward Liberty Elementary School. Police converged, and Bibby began trading fire with officers.

White was fatally shot. Bibby was shot and injured. Cook escaped from the group to a wooded area southwest of the school, but was later found in a creek by an officer.

During closing arguments, attorney Bob Breckenridge, who represented Cook, and attorney Jeffrey Powell, who represented Bibby, argued their clients were guilty of robbery, burglary and willful injury. However, they argued the state didn't prove intent to kill and urged the jury to fully acquit the men on both attempted murder charges.

Wapello County Attorney Reuben Neff argued to the jury that the evidence told a different story.

"They intended to kill people that day," Neff said in his closing arguments Wednesday. "They shot at people. They intended to kill Colt Stewart specifically. They intended to kill Tom McAndrew specifically. Thankfully, they are dumb enough and terrible enough at committing crimes that they failed."

The jury landed somewhere in the middle. Their verdict found Bibby guilty of the attempted murder of McAndrew from the shot he fired at McAndrew's vehicle, which shattered the front passenger-side window. However, Cook was not guilty of that charge — the jury delivering an acquittal.

The state had charged both men with attempted murder of Stewart, arguing a second shot was fired by Bibby at Stewart on Lillian Street to "finish the job," but missed. Police only recovered one shell casing at that scene, and the defense attorneys argued there wasn't enough evidence of a second shot.

Ultimately, the jury reduced that charge to assault with intent to commit serious injury, an aggravated misdemeanor.

The jury deliberated for less than eight hours on Thursday before arriving at their verdict. It was read in court shortly after 5 p.m.

Kyle Ocker is the editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at kocker@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Ocker.

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