Jurors find Corey Trott guilty of first-degree murder

Clarion, Ia. - Jurors took less than 90 minutes today to decide that Corey Trott was guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Rockwell City police officer Jamie Buenting.

Judge Thomas Bice immediately ordered Trott held without bond. He set Trott's sentencing for 10 a.m. on Sept. 26 in Rockwell City. Trott now faces life in prison.

When jurors' verdict was read, sighs of relief could be heard in the courtroom from Buenting's family and friends. Trott had no visible reaction; he stared straight ahead.

Amanda Buenting, Jamie Buenting's wife, released a statement that had been published in February in the Carroll newspaper. "Jamie Buenting dedicated his life to live and to justice," the statement read in part. "A great life ended too soon, a great example of a hero who pinned on a badge each day to protect and serve the public....The community has been amazing and has truly come together in a time of need."

Buening was the 173rd Iowa law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Jury deliberations began shortly before noon today. They had spent the morning listening to attorneys' closing arguments.

Prosecutors said Trott, 33, spent hours in his Rockwell City house during a September standoff waiting patiently to fire a shot at law enforcement. Trott shot and killed officer Jamie Buenting around 1:40 a.m. as Buenting tried to take down a curtain blocking a window into Trott's home so officers could see inside.

Officers went to Trott's house in an attempt to arrest him on a previous assault charge.

During his closing argument, assistant Iowa attorney general Scott Brown told jurors that Trott's statements to a state special agent, which were played in court on Wednesday, show that Trott planned the shooting. Trott told the agent that he had "no regrets" about taking the shot that killed Buenting, Brown said.

Trott was driven to kill Buenting during the standoff by a "longstanding" fear and anger he had toward local law enforcement, Brown said. In the interview audio played in court, Trott can be heard telling the agent that he believed Buenting and other police officers were trying to manipulate him and his family.

"He has anger in him and he's getting ready and making a plan to take it out on Jamie Buenting," Brown told jurors. "He's waiting, he's planning and he's being patient."

Trott is the first person in Iowa to be convicted of first-degree murder in a police officer's death since two suspects were convicted in a Newton officer's 1985 shooting death, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Buenting, 37, was an eight-year veteran of the Rockwell City police department.

Today would have been Buenting's 38th birthday.

Defense attorneys throughout the case have acknowledged that Trott fired the fatal shot. However, in his closing argument defense attorney Charles Kenville said Trott reacted after Buenting broke the window on his home.

Trott never intended for the shot he fired to kill Buenting, Kenville said.

"It was a sudden act that was done to get the police to go away," he said. "He wants them to fear enough to go away, but he doesn't want actual harm to come."