Chickasaw County Murder Case Finally Heads to Courtroom

The prosecution of a Charles City man, accused of a murder over a decade ago, will finally hit the courtroom next week. 

51-year-old Randy Patrie is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 70-year-old Carl Kenneth Gallmeyer of Nashua, on or about September 25, 2012. An investigation by the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office, Charles City Police and Iowa DCI led to a search of Patrie’s Charles City home in July 2013, with several items owned by Gallmeyer allegedly found inside the residence, including the gun believed used to kill him.

However, before they could proceed with their case, Patrie was sentenced in 2014 to life in federal prison on felony firearms charges and for being a career criminal. In 2018, Patrie was resentenced to 20 years in federal prison and Chickasaw County resumed efforts to prosecute him locally.

Chickasaw County Attorney David Laudner says trying a murder case almost 12 years after the fact is challenging to say the least.

Then you add in the complexity that naturally comes along with a murder trial, for both the state and the defense.

A pretrial conference is set for 11 am Tuesday, May 14th with the trial to start on May 20th in Chickasaw County District Court. 

Patrie has pleaded not guilty and has been held in the Fayette County Jail in West Union since being returned to northeast Iowa for prosecution in January 2022.