On Friday, Oct. 29 at the Cedar County Courthouse, Milton Serrano Jr. was sentenced to the maximum 50 years for the second-degree murder of Chanz Stevens. The 22 year-old Muscatine native will also serve a concurrent 10-year sentence for burglary and five-year criminal mischief charge.

As the parents of Stevens, a former well-known Wilton athlete, gave their victim impact statements in court, Serrano was seen and heard giggling behind the defense stand.

On Oct. 12, Serrano was convicted of murder in the second degree for the fatal stabbing of Stevens. He was arrested in July of 2020 after altercations at a party in Clarence, Iowa where he threatened to stab people with a knife, keyed a car, and ultimately stabbed Stevens in the abdomen twice.

Serrano’s conviction hearing took place in Dubuque County where the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in Stevens’ death.