A northwest Iowa man’s pleaded guilty to letting a couple teens get hold of a gun they used to stage a phony holdup. 43-year-old Gaylen Kraayenbrink of Hull has pleaded guilty to the charge of making a weapon available to a minor, a serious misdemeanor under Iowa law. The charge stems from a January 23 incident where Kraayenbrink’s 16-year-old son, Derek, and 16-year-old Nicholas Lokhorst, also of Hull, staged an armed robbery at Kat’s Oil Company in Hull. The two have admitted they stole 18-hundred dollars and tried to cover up the theft by shooting themselves with a handgun and making up a story about a Hispanic robber. As part of the plea agreement, Gaylen Kraayenbrink was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with all but two days suspended. He must serve a one-year probation period with the Department of Correctional Services, pay $900 in fines, and forfeit the weapon to the Sioux County Sheriff’s Department. The teens have a hearing April 21 at the Sioux County Courthouse.
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