Alan J. Schultz, 38, of Bedford, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Taylor County District Court on Tuesday.
March 17 a jury found Schultz guilty of first degree murder after deliberating for less than 40 minutes.
The charge stems from the July 4, 2024, murder of Colby Nelson, 19, of Lenox, outside of Bootlegger’s Bar and Grill in Clearfield.
An investigation revealed Nelson and Schultz had a disagreement inside the bar earlier in the night and another outside of the bar when Schultz was leaving. Schultz left on his motorcycle and went to his Bedford home where he retrieved a loaded handgun. He changed vehicles and drove back to the bar, exited his vehicle without the gun and confronted Nelson and several others outside.
Schultz reportedly walked back to his vehicle, grabbed the handgun from the passenger seat, walked back to Nelson, pointed the gun and fired one round, striking Nelson in the face. Law Enforcement found Nelson unresponsive on Broadway Street.
In addition to being charged with first degree murder, a Class A felony, he was also charged with and pled guilty to illegal possession of a firearm. Sentencing was set for April 8 on both convictions.
On Count Two, Schultz was ordered to spend no more than five years in prison, consecutive to his sentence on Count One. He was given credit for 278 times of time served.
Although restitution of $150,000 to Nelson’s estate and $15,861 to the Crime Victim Compensation Board was ordered to be paid by Schultz, an application to reconsider his ability to pay was submitted to the court. Based on Schultz’s lack of income, lack of assets and his life sentence, the court found he does not have the reasonable ability to pay the Class B restitution obligations.
Schultz cannot appeal the guilty plea unless he can establish good cause, a defect in the plea proceedings or improper denial of a motion in arrest of judgement. The sentences may be appealed but must be done within 30 days.
Schultz, who has been in custody since July 4, will be transferred to the custody of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center by Taylor County.