Sheldon, Iowa — A Sheldon woman who was convicted last year of Arson and Insurance Fraud for setting fire to her business, Budd-Z’s and the Rec Bowl, has has had her conviction upheld by the Iowa Court of Appeals.
According to court records, Kristina Manasil had appealed her conviction and sentence for the two charges on two points. First, she asserted that the District Court erred in failing to find that there was insufficient evidence that the presence of a person in the property could have been reasonably anticipated. Second, Manasil claimed the District Court had erred by ordering her to pay a surcharge on the Insurance Fraud count.
The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld Manasil’s conviction on the charges. The court, agreed with Manasil, however, that the District Court erred in imposing the surcharge, and vacated the portion of her sentence that imposed a $125 Law Enforcement Initiative Surcharge, instructing the Clerk of Court to correct the official record.
Manasil was convicted of 1st Degree Arson, and Insurance Fraud in May of 2015 for setting the May 14, 2013 fire that destroyed the Rec Bowl and Budd-Z’s, on Highway 18 in Sheldon. Manasil was sentenced to the mandatory 25 years in prison on the Arson conviction, with an additional 5 years, to be served concurrently, on the Insurance Fraud conviction.
