A Tiffin man is charged with voluntary manslaughter after an alleged “road rage” encounter ended in the fatal shooting death of Lee Earl Krogh, 57, of Iowa City.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jesse Burkhart, 42, on Wednesday, May 27, accusing him of shooting and killing Krogh with a handgun on Jan. 10.
Burkhart initially told police that he shot Krogh in self-defense and said Krogh was the one who “pulled the trigger, causing it to fire,” according to court documents.
‘Road rage’ sparked shooting outside Tiffin apartment
A witness, who was allegedly in a relationship with Burkhart, told police that Krogh and Burkhart did not know each other previously, and that Krogh allegedly “cut” Burkart off in traffic shortly after 11 a.m., sparking a sequence of events that led to Krogh’s death.
Krogh allegedly followed Burkhart to his Tiffin home in the 400 block of Iris Court, where, after parking his vehicle, Burkhart entered his apartment and retrieved a gun.
According to witness statements in court documents, Krogh allegedly began punching the driver’s side window and hit the driver’s side mirror.
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Burkhart re-emerged and engaged in a verbal altercation with Krogh, which allegedly escalated into a brief physical altercation during which Burkhart dropped his phone.
Krogh, according to court documents, allegedly picked up the phone. Burkhart then allegedly “displayed his weapon” and yelled at Krogh to drop the phone, which is when Burkhart allegedly fired the gun at Krogh, hitting him in the torso.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s office responded to a shots fired call at 11:45 a.m. and found Krogh suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
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Krogh was a plumber who hailed from Iowa City, according to his obituary, and most recently worked for Parker Plumbing in Iowa City. He was a 1986 Iowa City High graduate and enjoyed camping, hunting and fishing.
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government and public safety for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Tiffin man arrested following fatal January ‘road rage’ shooting
