MASON CITY, IA - Right now, Mark Becker is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail.
Becker has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas.
He was transferred Wednesday night around 7 pm with a one million dollar bond set.
Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals says an inmate transfer like this one is not unusual; it was likely a matter of safety.
"With a high profile case like that, everybody says, oh, the guy's a whacko, or, he's hurt somebody in the jail, and that's not the truth at all,” said Pals. “It's just a safety concern that the Butler County Sheriff's office has and we've accepted the responsibility."
Pals also says he was likely brought to Cerro Gordo because of the facilities and staffing offered there.
“That first 48 hours is very vital,” said Pals, “not only to the inmate, but also the staff, so, we’ll know here in the next few days whether Butler County’s going to make this a long term arrangement with Cerro Gordo, or whether it’s gonna be a short term.”
It will still be up to Butler County to decide where the case will be tried.
