Davenport man pleads not guilty to murdering Clear Lake man in 2022 gunfire incident in Cedar Falls

CEDAR FALLS — A Davenport man charged with murdering a Clear Lake man in a 2022 shooting in Cedar Falls has pleaded not guilty.

31-year-old Beau Ekstrom has been charged with first-degree murder as well as being a felon in possession of a firearm and intimidation with a dangerous weapon. Ekstrom is accused by authorities of being one of the people involved in a February 6th 2022 gunfight on College Street in Cedar Falls that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Arthur Lang of Clear Lake. Two others were injured in the incident. A criminal complaint states that Ekstrom and a friend were standing in a parking lot in the 2200 block of College Street when an SUV with Lang and others from the Mason City and Clear Lake area pulling up, with at some point Ekstrom allegedly firing at people in the vehicle.

One of the people in the vehicle, Brandon Mitchell, was arrested for attempted murder and is scheduled to be tried in July. Another person, Daniel Judon, pleaded guilty to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Ekstrom was released from prison earlier this month and transferred to the Black Hawk County Jail after being convicted in Scott County for lascivious acts with a child. Ekstrom was due in court for his arraignment hearing today, but court records show he filed a written plea of not guilty last week in Black Hawk County District Court. His trial is scheduled to start on June 11th.

If convicted of first-degree murder, a Class A felony, Ekstrom would face the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the opportunity for parole.

He’s being held in jail on $1.1 million bond.