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Modesto man arrested for 2011 cold case shooting death of Iowan

Mykel Roberts, convicted in 2019 for a string of robberies in Modesto, Turlock and Stanislaus County, has now been charged with first degree murder in Cedar Rapids.

MODESTO, Calif. — A Modesto man has been arrested for first-degree murder in a 10-year-old Iowa cold case. 

Mykel Roberts, 29, was serving time in a Stanislaus County prison for a string of robberies in Modesto, Turlock, and other nearby areas, all from August 2019. He has now been charged with murder and attempted murder in a Cedar Rapids, Iowa case from June 2011. 

According to court documents, Roberts is accused of killing Dexter Meeks and attempting to kill Dexter's brother, Andrew Meeks. The official criminal complaint also states that Roberts has confessed to officers that he committed these crimes. 

"The defendant was armed with a handgun and went to 211 15th St. SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the intent to kill Andrew Meeks. As a result of the shooting, the defendant shot and killed Dexter Meeks and attempted to kill Andrew Meeks by shooting at him," wrote Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier in the criminal complaint. 

In addition to the counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, Roberts is charged with "going armed with intent," as Roberts allegedly went to the Cedar Rapids residence with a gun already in hand. 

Andrew Meeks, who Roberts had allegedly intended to kill in June 2011, was shot and killed in Cedar Rapids in a separate incident six years after the death of his brother.

Roberts is currently being held in the Linn County Jail in Iowa with a $3,000,000 bond and no court hearing scheduled at this time. 

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