Judge finds no reason to reconsider Miles' 20-year jail term

Defendant claimed he was high on meth while signing plea bargain

A district court has denied a former Dickinson County man's request for his drug convictions to be reconsidered by a judge.

Patrick William Miles — also known as Patrick Wascher — claimed during a December hearing that his 2021 plea bargain should be considered invalid, saying he was under the influence of methamphetamine when he signed it and that his former defense attorney did not fully explain the potential outcomes of signing the agreement. Miles also accused his former attorney Steve Goodlow — who was recently installed as Dickinson County Attorney — of a conflict of interest, citing the county's decision to hire Goodlow as an assistant county attorney several months after the bargain was signed.

Iowa Third Judicial District Court Judge Nancy Whittenburg said in a decision filed Feb. 2 of this year that the situation was "essentially a credibility dispute." The judge ultimately found Miles' arguments lacking and denied the 45-year-old's application for post-conviction relief. Prosecutors noted ahead of the decision that Miles had unsuccessfully attempted to file appeals in April of 2022 regarding several of his convictions.

"(Miles) appears to have wanted one thing — to stay out of jail as long as possible," Whittenburg wrote. "His lawyer got it for him. Now (the) applicant appears to realize that what he wanted was not optimal in the long-term, and he should have made a different deal. That is buyer's remorse, no ineffective assistance of counsel."

Miles was one of two suspects arrested after an early-morning assault and robbery in November of 2019 in Spirit Lake. An initial criminal complaint in the case said Miles "held the victim down and struck the victim numerous times in the face and head.” The Dickinson County Sheriff's Office, Spirit Lake Police Department and the region's High risk Entry Arrest Team — or HEAT — were called in to execute a search warrant at Miles' then-residence in the 800 block of Lake Street in Spirit Lake. Miles was arrested and initially charged with first-degree robbery as well as possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

A second search warrant was executed simultaneously at a nearby apartment authorities believed to be the home of Angela Rinkoski, who was also thought to be involved in the crime — Rinkoski's charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal in October of 2020, but she violated the terms of her probation and returned to jail in January of 2021.

Miles is currently serving a jail sentence of up to 20 years for attempted burglary, possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, failure to affix a drug tax stamp and willful injury — the willful injury charge stemmed from an Aug. 6, 2020, incident in which Miles stabbed a Cherokee man in Milford during a verbal altercation.

Miles testified during a December 2022 hearing that he had used methamphetamine prior to signing a plea agreement on May 13, 2021. Prosecutors previously argued that Miles had met with his probation officer immediately prior to Goodlow's arrival and the signing of the plea — Miles testified in December that his probation officer and Goodlow arrived "right on top of each other.

"There was no time in which the defendant could have used a controlled substance between the meeting with his pretrial release officer and his attorney," prosecutors had argued.

Judge Whittenburg said the probation officer was especially credible in saying Miles was "alert and understood the consequences of what was being discussed with him." The judge highlighted the officer's training, experience, familiarity with Miles and previous encounters with him while he was under the influence of drugs. In addition, the judge noted the officer was the only party testifying who "does not have a direct stake in the matter."

Aside from the drug use, Miles' request to the court also accused Goodlow of ineffective counsel, claiming the attorney did not explain certain rights Miles would waive by signing the plea agreement — specifically the right to be involved in selecting jurors for a trial. Goodlow contended during the December hearing that he and Miles went over the agreement page by page. Judge Whittenburg's decision said legal precedent requires convicted defendants in Miles' position to show that the allegedly omitted information would have been enough to change their minds about signing a guilty plea. Whittenburg cited four separate quotes from Miles' testimony, in which he indicated he signed the plea bargain in order to delay his sentencing date as long as possible.

"(Miles) now characterizes this as coercion by Goodlow," the judge wrote.

Miles was initially scheduled to be sentenced on July 12, 2021, but he failed to appear. The Dickinson County Sheriff's Office, Milford Police Department and the HEAT team converged at Miles' last known address in the 1000 block of Highway 71 in Milford the same day, but he was not found. However, authorities did find a monitor bracelet Miles had been ordered to wear as part of his pretrial release.

Goodlow testified in December that, about a month after Miles failed to appear for court, he and former Dickinson County Attorney Amy Zenor began discussing Goodlow potentially serving as an assistant county attorney in Zenor's office. Miles was eventually arrested in Tea, South Dakota, extradited back to Iowa and booked into the Dickinson County Jail on Sept. 9, 2021.

Goodlow accepted the assistant county attorney position and filed to be withdrawn as counsel for Miles and other clients on Sept. 7 — two days before authorities returned Miles to Dickinson County. Goodlow officially began his employment in the county attorney's office on Oct. 4, 2021 — he was later appointed as county attorney after Zenor was charged with public intoxication and resigned in November of 2022.

Judge Whittenburg was not convinced Miles' current defense attorney demonstrated a conflict of interest on Goodlow's part, noting Goodlow didn't even accept the job offer until after the 45-day window in which his former client could have asked the court to delay its decision and consider some legal defect in the case — Miles' new attorney did submit such a filing the same day Miles was returned to Dickinson County, but that motion was subsequently denied on Sept. 24, 2021.

"Certainly, working for the state and as an applicant's attorney at the same time would be a situation conducive to divided loyalties," Whittenburg wrote. "However, that situation never occurred."

The judge's decision this month specified court costs are to be taxed to Miles. The 45-year-old is currently being held at the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City, according to information from the Iowa Department of Corrections.