A Lee County jury has convicted an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary in connection with a violent January attack on two prison counselors.
Twenty-three-year-old Anthony Sebastian Bauer was found guilty Wednesday on two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of contraband stemming from the January 21st assault inside the Fort Madison maximum-security prison.
According to the Lee County Attorney’s Office, Bauer and fellow inmate Dennis Lane Lawson allegedly carried out a coordinated attack on Corrections Counselors Nicky Clark and Zebulon Butler while the counselors were conducting classroom instruction in the penitentiary’s Long Term Restricted Program.
Investigators say Clark was handing out homework assignments around 9:37 that morning when Bauer and Lawson simultaneously attacked, each armed with homemade shiv-style weapons. Court records state the inmates repeatedly struck both counselors in vital areas, including the neck, throat, head, back, and sides.
Authorities say Butler intervened to help Clark but was also assaulted before responding correctional officers forcefully stopped the attack and restrained both inmates. Clark and Butler were transported to Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center for treatment of multiple injuries.
Following Wednesday’s guilty verdict, Bauer was immediately sentenced to 50 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 35 years served before parole eligibility. Attempted murder is a Class B felony in Iowa, carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years per count. The contraband charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
Bauer is already serving a sentence for second-degree murder and will remain in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections.
The second inmate charged in the case, Dennis Lane Lawson, is scheduled to stand trial July 7th.
The Fort Madison Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Department of Corrections assisted in the investigation and response to the incident.