‘We’re a system that believes in second chances’: Linn County attorney explains prior probation for teen now charged with murder
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - A 16-year-old charged with murder in a deadly Cedar Rapids shooting was on probation after pleading guilty to two felonies connected to another shooting less than a year ago.
Gerald Vance is charged with first-degree murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm as a felon in the death of 18-year-old La’Rell Rushing.
An i9 investigation found Vance was previously involved in a shooting near West Willow Elementary School on Halloween night in 2025. Court records show Vance pulled out a revolver and fired at other people in an incident caught on a doorbell camera.
Vance later pleaded guilty to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and willful injury causing bodily injury. He was sentenced to four years of probation.
TV9 asked Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks why Vance received probation in that case.
“We’re a system that believes in second chances. It’s not just Linn County, it’s across the criminal justice system. That’s why we have things like probation and have parole, but generally speaking, once somebody burns that opportunity it’s really kind of a gloves-off approach at that point in time,” Maybanks said.
Vance was 15 years old when the Halloween shooting happened.
Court records show prosecutors filed paperwork Monday alleging the new murder charge violates Vance’s probation.
Maybanks said investigators believe Saturday’s deadly shooting was targeted because Vance and Rushing had a history.
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