An East Dubuque man has been sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting of another man outside an area grocery store. 39 year old Nathan Russell received the mandatory sentence Tuesday in Iowa District Court of Jones County after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of 48 year old Aaron McAtee of Monticello, Iowa. Russell on Tuesday admitted to fatally shooting McAtee on November 7, 2023 outside the Monticello Fareway grocery store. McAtee, a married father of three, was an employee of the store and had no reported ties to Russell. As part of the sentence from Iowa District Court Judge Andrew Chappell, Russell also must pay $150,000 to McAtee’s estate. Russell opted to be sentenced immediately following Tuesday’s plea hearing, and the court heard victim impact statements from several of McAtee’s family members ahead of Chappell’s ruling.
