News : Men Sentenced in Boswell Home Invasion

Boswell family releases impact statement; thanks authorities involved

David Palmer Dewberry and Cody John Rollins were both sentenced today in Decatur County District Court for crimes committed during the break-in at Congressman Boswell’s farm home near Lamoni last July.

Dewberry was sentenced to an indeterminate term not to exceed 25 years in prison. He must serve a minimum of 70-percent of that sentence before being eligible for parole. Rollins was sentenced to a term not to exceed 10 years in prison.

Both had previously entered guilty pleas to their respective charges following the burglary.

Dewberry pleaded guilty to one count of Robbery in the 1st Degree (Class B Felony).

Rollins pleaded guilty to an amended charge of Aiding and Abetting an Attempted Burglary (Class C Felony) for his role in the planning of the offense.

Congressman Boswell, and the entire Boswell family, would like to thank the offices of the Decatur County Sheriff and Decatur County Attorney, Iowa State Patrol, Leon Police Department, Lamoni Police Department, Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Department of Criminal Investigation and the FBI for their expert service.

The Boswell family also submitted the following impact statement:

David,

It is with heavy heart that we write this. We are pleased that you have decided to do the honorable thing by pleading guilty to your crime and accepting your punishment after committing the terror that you put our family through that summer night.

What makes the whole matter most frightful and disgusting to us is that we once welcomed you into our home. However, we will not let you or anyone else turn us into a bunch of fearful cynics - that simply isn’t in our nature and we won’t change now.

While we understand that you have had a tough and tumultuous life, it is simply no excuse and your actions have no place in a civilized society. Your sinister motives and plan were appalling; it is by God’s grace that no one was seriously injured. We hope that you realize how lucky you are that you weren’t killed that night.

All this said, we believe that God has a plan for you and this isn’t it. We hope that during your incarceration you can find peace in your life, that then you can find the virtue of good judgment, and from there find the righteous path.