The Brutal Reality Before Justice | Ronald Hawkinson Trial Verdict

By: Dalene Davies-Smoot

Note: On October 15, 2013, Judge Chambers revealed his decision regard the verdict of Ronald Hawkinson, charged with two counts of murder in the first degree.

The verdict: Guilty of murder in the first degree – two counts. Sentencing will be December 3. This is my story….now I am free to write all and tell all….

On May 17th, 2012, the day started like any other day with Bob getting up and going to work and me starting my day with plans to clean the office so the brokerage could move home with me. That way he and Sam could keep building the fleet and Bob could purchase another truck.

At 11:35 a.m. Bob called me as he did every day when he went to lunch but this day was different. He was so very quiet and my prodding to find out what was wrong did no good he would not say that anything was wrong just that it was normal trucking with a few problems that were deeper than most.

I asked if he would be home on time that I was going to grill out kabobs and we can eat and then we could start refreshing my memory and setting up the office for the brokerage. I started the grill about 5 knowing he would be home by 5:20 and realized around 6 o’clock that something must be wrong because he wasn’t home and he always was home or called first if he was going to be late.

So I went ahead and ate my kabob and kept his warm in the oven thinking something had come up or a driver had come in late and he had to work with him or something. Around 6:45 I began to worry and I started calling his cell phone which I had already done a couple times but I started calling it constantly.

I also called my kids to see if they’d heard from him. I called so much between 6:45 and 1 o’clock the next morning – I called every hospital in the area, I called friends, and I called his sister in Michigan. I told her there was something wrong that he never was late without calling me and something was wrong!

My daughter and son text’d him and kept calling and Carla decided she was going to go down to the office when she got off work at 10:30 pm. In the meantime I was getting more and more panicked and worried.

Around 11 p.m. his sister Connie called me and said why don’t you check the computer and see if you can trace his cell phone? When I pulled up the computer a breaking news banner flashed across it, “Shooting at Seibert Trucking and it showed the parking lot with Bob’s car in front of the building with it all taped off as a crime scene. I threw the computer and went screaming to my next door neighbors. I was formally notified long after midnight.

Ronald Hawkinson had been in a financial beef with Serif Hidic, owner of LCS Logistics for some time. They had taken their differences to court, and Serif had won. This did not set well with Hawkinson, in fact, he had told another driver that he would kill Hidic before he’d give his truck back.

On the morning of May 17, 2012, Hawkinson went to see the owner of the property, Deb Seibert, whose office was right next door to LCS Logistics, and told her he was going to do something to send him back to prison but it would be worth it.

He left, went home to Winterset where he had lunch with his mom and step-dad, and girlfriend, Ronda Plew, who was originally charged with aiding and abetting, but walked free because the detectives forgot to mirandize her (yes, you heard right).

Around 4 p.m. he told them he was going to Des Moines to put in an application. He arrived at LCS Logistics at 5:00 p.m. at which time Serif Hidic came outside to confront him. That is when Hawkinson shot Hidic 4 times.

That is when Bob came to the door of the office and Hawkinson pointed the gun at Bob, Bob called 911 and it is grueling…”Ronnie! Don’t! No! NO! Ronnie!!” then you hear 7 – yes 7 – shots – all into my husband: 3 to the right cheek, 1 to the top of the head, 1 to the back of the neck, and 2 to the back lung area.

You hear Bob fall and you hear Bob moan and then an eerie silence as he lay dying. I will never, ever forget that 911 call….my poor Bob….27 seconds after the last shot into Bob, Hawkinson goes back outside and shoots Serif 3 more times, and leaves to go back to Winterset.

The final chapter – Hawkinson told his step father upon arriving at Winterset that he had shot someone. His step father didn’t know what he was talking about, and at the same time Rhonda Plew was taking a bloody steering wheel cover off in Hawkinson’s pick up.

Hawkinson then walked over to his mother and asked that she do something for him. She did. She drove him to Middle River near Bevington, Iowa, where he threw the gun – a 22 sawed off semi-automatic rifle – into Middle River. She then drove him back to the house where detectives had already arrived.

How so quick? Because Bob had identified him on the 911 call. Both Hawkinson’s step father and mother denied knowing anything even up to the point when they were all brought to Des Moines for questioning. After some time, they both (torn with disbelief that their son would do such a thing but wanting to be truthful knowing they would be put in jail if they lied) confessed that he had told the step dad about the shooting and that his mother drove him to the river to dump the gun.

Hawkinson was charged that night with first degree murder, two counts. And then another nightmare began….on January 7, the day trial was supposed to begin, Hawkinson said he was incompetent to stand trial.

On June 13, a competency hearing was held and all doctors agreed as to his competency. Trial finally began September 23, and he waived his right to a jury trial. September 30 ended the trial with the testimony of Dr. Garrity, Polk Co. medical examiner. Pictures of Bob and Serif before they were cleaned up following the shooting were gut wrenching.

The 911 call was played – I hardly got to the restroom to vomit upon hearing it for the first time…I fell to my knees screaming in emotional pain that will never leave me. Closing arguments were delivered, and the case rested in the judge’s hands.

Today we met to hear the verdict – Guilty in the first degree- two counts. Sentencing will be handed down on December 3, at which time I will read my victim impact statement. 99.9 percent that it will be two consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole.

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I want to thank everyone that has prayed for us and supported us in silent, yet so very important ways. I believe justice will definitely be served if he can do two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. The cowardly incompetence of evil has been overcome by good….Bob Smoot is a hero and will live on….good try Hawkinson. Shooting a body doesn’t mean you killed a spirit – Bob will always be twice the man in death than you will ever be in your miserable life.