Courtesy photo Dana Canfield
UPDATE – Three Men Sentenced
On Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, Devery Hibbler, 26, of Dumas, Arkansas, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to 35 years in prison on charges of interference with commerce by robbery and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death.
Also on Thursday, Robert Beaver, 35, of Sioux City, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the statutory maximum, for interference with commerce by robbery.
According to a report published in the Sioux City Journal by Nick Hytrek that same day:
Both sentences were spelled out in plea agreements between government prosecutors and defense attorneys. If both men had been found guilty at trial, they would have faced the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison, a fitting sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Forde Fairchild said.
But because much of the evidence against both men was circumstantial, a jury conviction was a little less certain, and Fairchild said he wanted to ensure both men went to prison. They also admitted their roles in the crime, he said, and Beaver did not handle the gun during the incident.
Courtland Clark was the last of the three men sentenced, and received 21 years.During his chance to address the court, Beaver turned around and faced Dana Canfield and apologized to her.
“I apologize and ask your forgiveness for what I did,” he said in Journal’s Sept. 1 story. “I’m sorry. I can’t bring him back, and it’s something I have to live with.”
Hibbler also said he was sorry.
On Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, Courtland Clark, 30, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his role in Tony Canfield’s case.
Shortly before receiving his sentence, Clark apologized to Canfield’s family and asked for their forgiveness, the Sioux City Journal reported Sept. 7, 2016.
Late on Sunday, May 1, 2011, Tony Ray “T-Bone” Canfield, 52, was shot in the head outside a Sioux City apartment house he shared with his wife, Dana.
Canfield was transported to St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead.
Courtesy photo KMEG-TVPolice had responded to a disturbance at 1401 George Street on Sioux City’s west side Sunday evening just before 11 p.m., where they found Canfield outside the home suffering from a gunshot wound.
In a May 3, 2011 news conference at police headquarters, Sioux City Police Lt. Mark Kirkpatrick said the incident began with a home invasion and that the suspects took undisclosed items from Canfield’s apartment. The suspects then assaulted Canfield’s wife, Kirkpatrick said, and dragged Canfield outside and shot him. Police had not yet recovered the weapon.
Sioux City in Woodbury CountySeveral Siouxland media outlets reported authorities were searching for three black males in their late teens to early 20s, who witnesses said fled the scene after Canfield’s shooting. The victim’s wife, Dana Canfield, said all three wore baggy jeans and a hooded top.
According to police, the three suspects got away with items from the home invasion-style robbery before fleeing on foot. Officials called the robbery/murder a “targeted event.”
All three men were described as being of slender build, heights of 5′ 6″ to 5′ 10″, wearing hooded sweatshirts, baggy jeans, and having their faces covered during the incident.
“Obviously the descriptions are very limited,” Kirkpatrick told the press. “They’re not specific to any one individual. So officers and investigators are working with other elements of the case trying to determine who the suspects are.”
Dana Canfield’s injuries did not warrant a visit to the hospital, and police said they believed the crime to be an isolated incident.
Courtesy photo Laura Wehde/Sioux City JournalFamily members and friends of Anthony “T-Bone” Canfield described him as a man of faith and avid sports fan who enjoyed working out, cooking, fishing, helping people and children, and watching the Los Angeles Lakers.
“He was the best papa a daughter could ask for,” 19-year-old Caitlin Walker told the Sioux City Journal in a story published May 4, 2011. Walker said Canfield became a father figure in her life four years earlier. She was one of many who stopped by the George Street apartment house to contribute to the growing makeshift memorial of balloons, candles and flowers.
Walker’s contribution: a green wooden cross, adorned with two juice boxes.
Canfield, the Journal reported, was known as the deacon of the children at the New Life in Christ Church and regularly handed out juice boxes, candy and popsicles to kids gathered at the neighboring George Street Children’s Park.
A guestbook signature — left on the Meyer Brothers Chapels website — bespoke the loss Canfield’s death meant to one family. A May 5, 2011 entry by “The King Family” read:
Tony Ray, we gone miss you man…. You will always be like a big uncle to me. I remember you use to sneak me and TJ them Red Ball candies that Mrs. Eva Mae use to say we couldn’t have. Man my pops gone miss u calling and saying What up Real.. or how Queen doing… We love you man.
Courtesy Sioux City JournalSioux City police announced on Friday, June 10, 2016, that they’d arrested and charged three men in Tony Canfield’s homicide and that all three individuals entered guilty pleas. All three convictions took place in federal court.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, 26-year-old Courtland Clark of Flowery Branch, Georgia, 35-year-old Robert Beaver of Sioux City and 26-year-old Devery Hibbler of Dumas, Arkansas, were charged and convicted of one count each of interference with commerce by robbery. Clark and Hibbler also pleaded guilty to one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death.
The men acknowledged their respective roles in Canfield’s death, even though the plea agreements didn’t directly charge any of the three with first- or second-degree murder.
According to court documents, the three men entered Canfield’s home around 11 p.m. Sunday, May 1, 2011 in order to rob him of his marijuana and cash. Authorities said Beaver beat and held Canfield’s wife while Clark and Hibbler struggled and robbed Canfield. Canfield fought back and managed to escape by running out the front door. At this point Hibbler then shot Canfield to death on the front porch.
Courtesy Sioux City JournalThe three fled the scene, and evaded capture for five years as the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sioux City Police Department and the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office worked together to build a solid case against all three men. The three were charged in a Superseding Indictment on April 19, 2016.
In a June 10, 2016 press release by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Iowa, authorities said Canfield was targeted for robbery because he was a marijuana dealer whose illegal interstate business earned him large sums of cash.
Because his business was illegal and also involved interstate commerce, Sioux City police and the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office referred the case to the United States Attorney’s Office, where federal prosecutors were able to claim jurisdiction in the case.
They prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes.
“This case is a fine example of persistence and cooperation by the Sioux City Police Department, the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” United States Attorney Kevin Techau said of the arrests and convictions. “Despite a number of obstacles along the way, these three agencies, along with the United States Attorney’s Office, never stopped working toward solving this murder, and bringing those responsible to justice. This case gives notice to those who would commit acts of violence in our communities that no matter what the difficulties, and no matter how long it takes, we will investigate and prosecute such acts of violence to the full extent of the law.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, plea agreements call for Hibbler to serve 35 years in prison and for Beaver to serve 20 years. Neither will have the possibility of parole or the right to appeal his conviction.
Clark faces a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. His sentence will be determined by a judge at sentencing.
On Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, Devery Hibbler, 26, of Dumas, Arkansas, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to 35 years in prison on charges of interference with commerce by robbery and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence causing death.
Also on Thursday, Robert Beaver, 35, of Sioux City, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the statutory maximum, for interference with commerce by robbery.
According to a report published in the Sioux City Journal by Nick Hytrek that same day:
Both sentences were spelled out in plea agreements between government prosecutors and defense attorneys. If both men had been found guilty at trial, they would have faced the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison, a fitting sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Forde Fairchild said.
But because much of the evidence against both men was circumstantial, a jury conviction was a little less certain, and Fairchild said he wanted to ensure both men went to prison. They also admitted their roles in the crime, he said, and Beaver did not handle the gun during the incident.
During his chance to address the court, Beaver turned around and faced Dana Canfield and apologized to her.
“I apologize and ask your forgiveness for what I did,” he said in the Journal’s Sept. 1 story. “I’m sorry. I can’t bring him back, and it’s something I have to live with.”
Hibbler also said he was sorry.
On Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, Courtland Clark, 30, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for his role in Tony Canfield’s case.
Shortly before receiving his sentence, Clark apologized to Canfield’s family and asked for their forgiveness, the Sioux City Journal reported Sept. 7, 2016.
Official Court File information at: https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl
Tony Ray Canfield was born January 16, 1959, in Monroe, La., the son of Robert and Eva Mae (Everett) Canfield. He grew up in West Monroe, La., and worked for Misco in Monroe for 22 years. He moved to Sioux City in February 1998.
Courtesy, Dana CanfieldOn July 13, 2007, he married Dana Marie Coenen in Sioux City.
He was a faithful member of New Life In Christ Church.
Survivors included his wife, Dana of Sioux City; four daughters, Mabel “Peaches” Mallex of Rustin, La., Shae Samuel of Rustin, Mary Jo Millsap of Monroe, and Caitlin Walker of Sioux City; a son, Terry T.J. Brown of Sioux City; his mother, Eva Mae McNeil of Monroe; a brother, Terry Canfield of Monroe; two sisters, Marilyn Britton of Monroe, and Cherrie Britton of Florida; and five grandchildren, NiAsia, Jazel, Mya and Cody Samuel and Marcus Loutsch.
Courtesy photo Laura Wehde/Sioux City JournalHe was preceded in death by his stepfather, Robert McNeil, and an infant son.
Memorial services were held Saturday, May 7, 2011 at New Life In Christ Church, 2929 W. Fourth Street in Sioux City, with the Rev. J.D. Mosley Jr. officiating. Visitation with the family was held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, with a prayer service at 7 p.m. at the church. Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel handled arrangements.
Honorary pallbearers were Marcus Anderson, Gary Hill, Armonda Barker, Larry Barker, Marcel Shupe, Kendra Jackson and Keith Jackson.
Family members asked that memorials in his name be made to the New Life In Christ Church.
They took these three murderers off the street,but they neglected to charge any of them with murder. Why is that?
Mike, though it does seem strange that none of the three were charged with murder, perhaps this was the only way plea agreements could be reached with all three offenders. And, there’s something else here one *must* take into consideration: had they all been charged with murder, we’d likely have seen three different trials, and criminal defense attorneys are master magicians when it comes to confusing jurors with smoke and mirrors.
Had the three gone to trial, it’s possible — especially if they all pointed the trigger finger at one of the others — that all three may have been acquitted because of jurors’ uncertainty over what “reasonable doubt” really means.
This way, all three are at least going to prison and they’ve taken responsibility for the crime they committed. The family now has answers as to who did what, and each man is being held accountable for his role in a crime of violence causing Tony Canfield’s death.
Murderers should be put behind bars for the rest of their life.That’s my opinion.
https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/three-plead-guilty-in-connection-to-sioux-city-cold-case-where-man-was-shot-on-front-steps/
Thoughts and prayers to this family.
This is so sad. I hope you can solve this.
Diana, “Iowa Cold Cases” doesn’t ‘solve’ cases but rather keeps the case information “out there” to remind the general public that charges haven’t yet been filed and it’s not too late for anyone to come forward with any knowledge or information about the crime. Some murders actually defy the phrase “cold case” because police and/or other agencies already have a prime suspect or suspects, and are steadily working toward gathering evidence in order to present an airtight case that results in a conviction. Tony Canfield’s homicide is a perfect example, as was Casey Frederiksen’s 2015 sentencing in 5-year-old Evelyn Miller’s 2005 murder in Floyd, Iowa.
We at ICC will not take credit for solving any crime because it is the police departments, the county attorneys, the FBI, and many more agencies who fully investigative these murders and ultimately charge one of more individuals in the deaths.
We’ll usually include a case here if more than a year has passed without an arrest, even if LE has a primary suspect. A year after a murder, many people are unaware of whether or not anyone was ever charged, and we serve as a gentle reminder that they have not.
I have the utmost respect for law enforcement agencies (local to state to federal) who continue putting in long hours years after the victim’s family members may have given up on seeing justice served. The Sioux City Police Department has one of the highest clearance rates for homicides in the state, and so many of their efforts (like in other cities) go unrecognized or unnoticed, but they never stop working a case until the leads literally hit a dead end. The three arrests and convictions in Tony Canfield’s murder serve as major victories to all law enforcement officials involved in prosecuting this case.
I thought they found the men who did this!? I’m praying so!
It’s close … very close.
Thank you so Much for sharing his story!!! You are our Blessing! You give us victims/family hope when we all seem its gone and we are forgotten. We have these to post and share hoping and praying anyone, just someone, anyone will come forward and tell what happened. Thank you so much for all that you do. You are my biggest blessing and have always been there for me you have no idea how much i apperciate you and your work!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU
She indeed is a blessing
Dana Canfield, thanks so much for your heartfelt words of appreciation!! I’m behind with posts and just saw this today, and it meant even more to me after a phone call earlier today with a particular county attorney (no, not even close to Woodbury) who is knee-deep in a couple of unsolved homicides. “How much do you make?” he jeered. “I read the Des Moines Register article.” (Thank goodness he can read!) But to equate the value of one’s work to how much money one is paid is a slap in the face to anyone who volunteers for anything. His own financial GREED played a huge role in the separate (unsolved) deaths of a good Iowa man and his son. I won’t name names here, but he is the epitome of why attorneys in general get such a bad rap. We run the gamut here, with some civic-minded practicing attorneys actually working “pro bono” on some of these unsolved cases, while one can look the other direction and see a simple-minded power-hungry county attorney gloating over the power he holds to bring about criminal charges in a case or (if financially profitable) look the other way. Your message was a breath of fresh air!! ??⚖?
Lori Mathes reigns in our family as the “Kindness Queen.” She is a blessing to anyone fortunate enough to know her!
What is wrong with people??? I pray someone comes forward. My heart and thoughts are with the family.
This is NOT the T bone Taylor who murdered two cops in Waterloo in the 80’s. Different guy completely.
Sorry for your loss Dana. Sounds like you loved him very much. This is something nobody should have gone through. Hope they find them.