The man accused of killing an Iowa State Patrol trooper during a standoff in Grundy Center last year will go to trial for murder this spring in Hamilton County.
Forty-two-year- old Michael Lang is accused of shooting Sergeant Jim Smith in Lang’s Grundy Center home in a confrontation on April 9th, 2021.
Lang, who himself was shot several times after police used an armored vehicle to breach his residence, is charged with murder, attempted murder and assaulting a police officer.
Prosecutors did not oppose a defense request in January to move Lang’s trial out of Grundy County due to extensive media coverage and public interest in the case.
This week, District Judge Joel Dalrymple set May 9th as the date for the trial to begin in Hamilton County District Court in Webster City.
Smith was a 27-year member of the Iowa State Patrol when he died of his wounds.
(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)