Charged with killing an Algona police officer, he is back in Dickinson Co. for his trial

SPIRIT LAKE — Kyle Ricke, the defendant charged with killing Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram, was transported Sunday back to Dickinson County where he is scheduled to go on trial today.

He has been held in the Hamilton County Jail awaiting his trial that was delayed due to the extensive flooding in Dickinson County.

Ricke faces a first-degree murder charge.

He was apprehended near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, late on Sept. 13, 2023, following a four-hour manhunt after he allegedly shot and killed Cram while the officer was attempting to serve an arrest warrant.

Cram, 33, was located by law enforcement and emergency medical services shortly after the shooting and transported to Kossuth Regional Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Ricke had an active warrant for third-degree harassment, a simple misdemeanor, out of Palo Alto County, court documents show. He had allegedly been harassing a former partner with text messages and phone calls between April and August, according to online court records.

After being apprehended in Minnesota, Ricke was extradited back to the Kossuth County Jail. He pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge on Oct. 6, 2023.

During Ricke’s initial appearance in Kossuth County Magistrate Court in September 2023, prosecutor Scott Brown, with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, said the shooting was captured “at least partially, if not fully” on video.

If convicted, Ricke faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ricke’s public defender Matthew L. Pittenger, of the Mason City Public Defender’s office, had requested the delay last month citing the impact the flooding had on multiple people who would be involved.

“One of the defendant’s attorney(s) had her home flooded and should be allowed time to take care of those matters.

“The potential jurors could be affected by the flooding and should be allowed to focus on their homes and businesses. There is a concern about sitting a jury that will be focused on this trial instead of being focused on the flooding that has affected the community.”