State Wants Bail Doubled for Northeast Iowa Man Charged with Attempted Murders of Peace Officers

The State wants bail doubled for a northeast Iowa man facing four counts of attempted murder after he allegedly shot at peace officers.

The Howard County Sheriff’s Office arrested 49-year-old Mark Zweibohmer of Elma on May 28th after he was accused of firing multiple shots at law enforcement during an incident at his home near Elma. 

Criminal complaints state “ Mark Michael Zweibohmer did attempt to commit murder, with the intent to cause the death of one or more persons (Law Enforcement Officers) by discharging live ammunition toward law enforcement by use of a firearm or several firearms.”

The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) said the Howard County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from Zweibohmer to conduct a welfare check at his residence. When law enforcement arrived on scene, he began shooting at responding officers, who returned fire. 

The Iowa DCI is investigating the officer-involved shooting incident, which also included Cresco Police, Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol. There were no injuries reported. 

Zweibohmer is charged with four counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, all Class B felonies, and is being held in the Winneshiek County Jail with bail currently set at $100,000 cash-only bond. However, the State filed a request last Friday (06.06) to increase Zweibohmer’s bail to $200,000 due to the severity of charges. No hearing has been set on the matter.

Last Thursday (06.05), Charles City attorney Judith O’Donohoe appeared on behalf of Zweibohmer’s defense in Howard County District Court. Attorney  Trevor Hurd,  also with O’Donohoe’s law firm appeared for the defense on Monday (06.09), when arraignment for Zweibohmer was set for July 14th.