IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 17-1065
Filed June 6, 2018
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs.
THOMAS E. REUTHER,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows,
Judge.
The defendant challenges his conviction for escape from custody in
violation of Iowa Code section 719.4(1) (2016). AFFIRMED.
Stuart G. Hoover of Blair & Fitzsimmons, P.C., Dubuque, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Genevieve Reinkoester, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.
2
MCDONALD, Judge.
Thomas Reuther pleaded guilty to escape from custody, in violation of Iowa
Code section 719.4(1) (2016), after he, in his own words, “ran” away from the
residential correctional facility to which he had been paroled. On appeal, Reuther
contends his plea counsel provided constitutionally deficient representation in
failing to file a motion in arrest of judgment because there was no factual basis in
support of the guilty plea. On de novo review, we conclude the claim is without
merit; the record as a whole supports a factual basis for each element of the
offense. See State v. Miller, 841 N.W.2d 583, 591 (Iowa 2014) (discussing
historical development of escape statute and elements of the offense); State v.
Ortiz, 789 N.W.2d 761, 764 (Iowa 2010) (stating standard of review is de novo for
claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in allowing the defendant to plead guilty
in the absence of a factual basis and setting forth the elements of the claim). We
affirm the defendant’s conviction without further opinion. See Iowa Ct. R.
21.26(1)(a) and (e).
AFFIRMED.