Floyd County jury finds Charles City man not guilty on robbery, assault charges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man who was charged with robbery and assault has been found not guilty by a Floyd County District Court jury this week.

Darius Mensel Mason, age 41, had been charged with first-degree robbery, a Class B felony; assault with willful injury resulting in serious injury, a Class C felony; and false imprisonment, a serious misdemeanor; for an incident which had allegedly occurred July 10.

According to court records the jury was selected and sworn in on Tuesday, heard opening statements, evidence, closing arguments and jury instructions and returned the verdict of not guilty on all three counts on Wednesday.

Another person, Kathyleen Mason, age 39, also of Charles City, was also charged with the same three charges for her alleged involvement in the incident, and her trial had also been set to begin Tuesday.

However, at a pretrial conference held on Aug. 29, she pleaded guilty to the assault with willful injury charge and District Court Judge DeDra Schroeder accepted her plea, according to court records. Schroeder set sentencing for Oct. 24 in Floyd County District Court.

Court records alleged the incident July 10 involved attempting to take cash from a person, resulting in that person receiving injuries including a broken nose and fractured ankle.