Matthew Meisheid, 41, of Kalona was sentenced August 11 in Washington County District Court.  He had been found guilty by a five-man, seven-woman jury June 28 on two counts of Assault on Persons in Certain Occupations by Using or Displaying a Firearm.  The District Court Judge Joshua P. Schier imposed the five-year sentence and determined the counts would run concurrently.

Immediately after sentencing in the half-hour proceedings, the handcuffed and shackled Meisheid was taken by county deputies for transport to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale, Iowa, where determination will be made about his transfer to a prison.  Officials said the regular evaluation procedure at Oakdale usually takes from two to three months.

The case resulted from a call to Washington County Communications July 9, 2022, that fireworks were being fired from the Meisheid residence in Kalona; county deputies Nolan Burke and Noah Schlabaugh responded to warn Mesiheid of the city ordinance regarding fireworks.  In response, Meisheid removed a handgun and raised it in the air, causing alarm with the deputies.  In their incident report, the deputies said Meisheid appeared “aggressive, swearing and upset…” with them.  At that point, they reported they felt threatened, feared for their lives and drove from the scene to seek a warrant for Meisheid’s arrest. 

  Meisheid was later arrested and charged with the two counts of Assault on Persons in Certain Occupations by Using or Displaying a Firearm, each a Class D Felony.  Following the execution of a warrant at the residence July 12, 2022, Meisheid’s initial $10,000 bond was increased to $25,000 after law enforcement officers seized numerous firearms and a large quantity of ammunition at the residence; the items were seized  by authorities in the interest of public safety.  The items have remained in possession of the authorities.

In passing sentence Friday, Judge Schier stressed that if it were not for the restraint showed by police in the confrontation with Meisheid, the outcome could have been far different.  He also noted that the defendant did not show any awareness of that.  Although in his brief statement to the court prior to sentence being imposed, Meisheid noted awareness of having some problems and said he had no help.

Earlier Meisheid’s father said of him there had been no problems in school, high school and college, but added that there had not been a lot of contact for some time.

Assistant County Attorney Shane McChurch, who prosecuted the case, told The News Monday that “Even for mandatory minimums like the one Mr. Meisheid was sentenced to, the prison will reduce the sentence by an additional 1.2 days for every day he is in prison, so long as he has “good behavior.”    

It is “expected” he will serve around 26 months of his five-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.  

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Communications and the Washington County Attorney’s office investigated the case that led to Meisheid’s arrest.