Matthew Barrett Robbins, Drug Robbery, Iowa 2024

A brutal crime has finally seen justice, as Matthew Barrett Robbins, 48, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of a 2014 drug robbery that turned deadly.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after a nine-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids, finding Robbins and his accomplices planned to rob a local drug dealer on May 31, 2014. During the robbery, a firearm was used, resulting in the death of the victim.

“Matthew Robbins used a gun to steal drugs and money,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry. “Robbins’s actions resulted in the death of the man he robbed. Today’s verdict holds him accountable for that death.”

The conviction comes after more than a decade of investigation, with over a dozen law enforcement agencies working together to bring Robbins to justice.

Robbins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, as well as a $750,000 fine and 11 years of supervised release.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Emily K. Nydle. Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.

Robbins remains in the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/man-involved-2014-drug-robbery-found-guilty-federal-court