(Des Moines)– The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a portion of a stalking conviction against a Greeville man.
On Friday, the high court ruled 46-year-old Michael Greene is guilty of stalking, but did not use a dangerous weapon against his ex-girlfriend.
Greene was convicted of stalking with a dangerous weapon and two counts of second degree criminal mischief in Dickinson County District Court. Greene appealed his conviction to the Iowa Court of Appeals which upheld the conviction. Now, the Iowa Supreme Court has reversed part of the conviction.
The high court agrees that Greene is “easily” guilty of stalking an ex-girlfriend after their relationship soured and she moved to Milford. Green was charged with placing a dead skunk in the woman’s home, spray painting her car and throwing a rock through the vehicle’s windshield. He was also accused of putting up signs bearing derogatory comments about the woman.
The most significant piece of evidence against Greene was the fact that steel shards had been used to deflate the tires on vehicles owned by the victim and her parents.
The Dickinson county jury found the razor-sharp pieces of metal to be “dangerous weapons”, but the Iowa Supreme Court disagrees. In its ruling Friday, the high court stated the metal shards were meant to flatten a tire, not to kill a person.
Greene is currently in prison. Friday’s ruling is expected to shave 10 years off his prison term.
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