SPIRIT LAKE — The man accused of shooting and killing Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a Dickinson County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

It took less than an hour of deliberation for the jury to find Kyle Ricke, of Algona, guilty following two days of receiving evidence and hearing testimony about the events which occurred on the evening September 13, 2023, when Cram attempted to serve an arrest warrant for third-degree harassment on Ricke at the home of his mother.

Following the initial interaction, Ricke allegedly returned with a gun and shot Cram eight times. Cram died of multiple gunshot wounds.

The trial was moved from Kossuth County to Dickinson County due to concerns that pretrial publicity would impact the ability to find an impartial jury.

Defense attorneys stated in Thursday’s closing arguments that while body and dash cam footage showed that Ricke shot Cram, what it did not show was if Ricke had acted “willfully and pre-meditatively or with malice,” which is necessary for a charge of first-degree murder.

“You have access to exactly what happened before, during and after the shooting in the video,” Defense Attorney Diane Wallwey said as she addressed the jury. “But what we cannot see is what he (Ricke) was thinking in those moments. Did he act willfully and deliberately with an intent to kill?”

Wallwey said Ricke attempted to take his own life after the shooting and that he would not have done so in front of his mother.

“It happened with his mother next to him,” she said. “If premeditated, he would have never acted in front of his mother. He acted out of instinct and then tried to take his own life. If he had planned, he never would have acted in front of his mother.”

The defense went on to say that “given his state of mind, the defendant was not thinking clearly. It was over so fast that he did not have time to ponder. We understand what is on video, but the state has not proven what Mr. Ricke was thinking.”

In counter arguments, prosecuting attorney Scott Brown set a timer for 96 seconds, the same amount of time from when Cram first encountered Ricke and when Ricke returned with a gun and began shooting, and paused.

“In this context it (96 seconds) was a lengthy amount of time,” said Brown. “Enough time to go off and get a gun and think about what to do with it and gun down Officer Cram. These states of mind do not have to exist for any length of time.

“We gave all the evidence we had in this case,” Brown said. “Kevin never even had a chance to defend himself. He went to do his job and he paid with his life.”

Following the verdict, defense attorneys declined to comment.

Prior to the trial, Ricke was held in the Hamilton County Jail in Webster City on a $2 million bond. Upon being found guilty, Ricke was returned to Hamilton County where he will be held without bond until an August 21 sentencing at the Kossuth County Courthouse in Algona. When sentenced, Ricke will spend life in prison without possibility of parole.