State of Iowa v. Ralph Gilbert Webb II

── State of Iowa v. Ralph Gilbert Webb II ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 25-0455 Filed April 29, 2026 _______________ State of Iowa, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Ralph Gilbert Webb II, Defendant–Appellant. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Madison County, The Honorable Charles C. Sinnard, Judge. _______________ AFFIRMED _______________ Angela L. Campbell and Madalyn Elizabeth Grask of Dickey, Campbell, & Sahag Law Firm, PLC, Des Moines, attorney for appellant. Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Joseph D. Ferrentino, Assistant Attorney General, attorneys for appellee. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Badding and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. 1 BADDING, Judge. A family dispute led to a fight between two couples: Meranda and Dillon Horton, and Sherry Sheridan and Ralph Webb. The Hortons testified that Webb assaulted them, while Sheridan and Webb denied that any contact occurred. Crediting the Hortons’ testimony, the jury found Webb guilty of assault causing bodily injury to Meranda.1 Webb appeals that conviction,2 challenging the district court’s rulings that excluded his request to admit video evidence and denied his motions for substitute counsel and a new trial. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings Sherry Sheridan and her daughter own a house together, which has made their relationship “very strained,” according to Sheridan. When her daughter was out of town in June 2024, Sheridan went to the house with her fiancé—Ralph Webb—to take pictures for her attorney. Meranda Horton and her husband, Dillon, were there house-sitting for Sheridan’s daughter. While Sheridan was in the garage, Meranda came out of the house and yelled at her “to get the F out.” Sheridan refused, and an altercation broke out between the two women. Webb, who was standing nearby, heard the commotion and ran into the garage. Meranda testified that when Webb came in, he struck her on the back of the head, briefly knocking her unconscious. She recalled lying in the fetal 1 Because they share a last name, we refer to the Hortons by their first names. 2 The jury also found Webb guilty of simple misdemeanor assault against Dillon. However, Webb’s appeal challenges only the conviction for assault causing bodily injury, and so we limit our review accordingly. Our supreme court denied Webb’s separate application for discretionary review of his simple-misdemeanor-assault conviction. 2 position and feeling as though she was “being attacked,” although she could not remember whether Webb was hitting or kicking her. Meranda screamed for her husband. Dillon testified that when he went into the garage, he saw Meranda on the floor behind a pickup with Webb standing over her. Dillon yelled at Webb, who started chasing Dillon around the garage. As Dillon was running away, Webb hit him on the side of the face. Dillon—who was not armed—threw his hands up to avoid fighting with Webb. But Webb continued to swing and lunge at him until the Hortons made it back into the house. Webb and Sheridan remembered the fight differently. Webb testified that when he ran into the garage, he saw “blood all down the front of” Sheridan. He stepped in to separate Sheridan and Meranda. As he did so, Webb testified that he heard Meranda yell for Dillon. When Webb turned around, he saw Dillon coming towards him while reac