WEBSTER CITY, Iowa—A jury on Monday convicted a man of first-degree murder in the shooting death of an Iowa State Patrol trooper last year.
Michael Lang, 42, was also found guilty of attempted murder and assaulting a police officer for his actions on April 9, 2021, that killed 51-year-old patrol Sgt. Jim Smith in Grundy Center, a city of nearly 3,000 people about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines. He faces a mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he’s sentenced.
