BURLINGTON, IOWA (AP) -- A man accused of breaking a 76-year-old woman's arm as he tried to rob her at a casino has convinced Des Moines County prosecutors to free him from his guilty plea.
David Jacob Mathias insisted he was given bad advice by a public defender, who told him he would serve a little over half of a seven-year mandatory minimum term given for second-degree robbery conviction. The law would have required him to serve 70 percent of a seven-year sentence.
On Tuesday, Des Moines County prosecutors conceded public defender James Carter gave Mathias erroneous advice.
District Judge Mary Ann Brown gave the man his guilty plea back, noting a defendant must fully understand what he is facing before pleading guilty to a crime.
Prosecutors now must decide what charges should be filed against Mathias.
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