Ricke was convicted of first degree murder by a jury in Dickinson County in July 2024. Ricke’s lawyers appealed the conviction, arguing that the state failed to prove that he acted deliberately and with premeditation when he shot Cram, who was attempting to execute an arrest warrant out of Palo Alto County at the time.

In the Iowa Court of Appeals ruling, released Wednesday morning, the judges stated that Ricke’s comments following the shooting were heard on Cram’s body camera and were the most persuasive in upholding the conviction.

The Court ruled that “a reasonable jury could conclude that once Ricke learned Officer Cram was there to serve an arrest warrant, he formed the motive to kill him to avoid going back to jail.”

The court’s opinion also states that “a reasonable jury could rely on the violent nature of the killing to find premeditation,” arguing that Ricke had the opportunity to deliberate before he shot Cram the first time, and before each of the seven shots that followed.

Ricke was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is the mandatory minimum sentence in Iowa for first degree murder convictions.