Lu Verne, Iowa — The man accused of killing an Algona woman outside a bank in the Kossuth County town of Lu Verne in December changed his plea from not guilty to guilty during a hearing Friday. Thirty-five-year-old Valentino Williams of Coralville changed his plea during a hearing in Kossuth County District Court.
Williams admitted in court to killing 43-year-old Jessica Weishaar outside the bank in Lu Verne on the morning of December 4th, of last year. He was arrested following a traffic stop along Interstate 35 in rural Franklin County little more than an hour after the shooting. Law enforcement was able to track down Williams vehicle after he was recorded driving more than 80 miles an hour by a DOT Enforcement officer south of Belmond.
As a part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the first-degree Robbery charges against Williams. Judge Nancy L. Whittenburg accepted the plea and handed out the mandatory sentence of life without parole.
