Area Man Sentenced to Life for Nashua Slaying

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Charles City man to life in prison after concluding the man killed a retired grocery store owner during a burglary.

Federal prosecutors say Randy Patrie was sentenced on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. He'd been convicted of possessing sawed-off shotguns and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Prosecutors say evidence presented at a sentencing hearing in February showed that Patrie fatally shot Ken Gallmeyer while burglarizing his home outside Nashua. Judge Linda Reade took the case under advisement and then in June issued findings that included her conclusion that Patrie had murdered Gallmeyer.

The judge said Patrie's offenses made him an armed career criminal, which carries a maximum sentence of life. On Thursday Reade gave Patrie the maximum.