CEDAR RAPIDS — A June 21 break-in that left two men suffering from gunshot wounds was over an internet domain name, court documents show.

Cedar Rapids police announced Monday that Sherman Hopkins, 43, has been arrested on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and first-degree kidnapping following his hospitalization after the incident at 424 Fairway Terrace SE. A police department news release did not indicate why Hopkins entered 26-year-old Ethan Deyo’s home armed with a gun, but said the incident was not a random act.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday by the Linn County Attorney’s Office spells out an apparent motive.

“(Hopkins) then forced Deyo to log on to his computer and tried to coerce Deyo to transfer a domain name to a third party,” the complaint states. The complaint does not identify the third party.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow confirmed the details of the criminal complaint, but said he could not provide any more information, including identifying the domain name in question.

“I can’t give a lot of details on the investigation,” Buelow said. “This domain name is valuable and he wanted that transferred back to someone else.”

Police were called to the home at 1:28 p.m. June 21 for a report of a shooting. Deyo and Hopkins were found at the residence suffering from gunshot wounds. Authorities said Hopkins had entered the residence armed with a gun and Deyo fled to a bedroom. Hopkins allegedly forced his way into the bedroom and made Deyo go into another room to log on to his computer.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Police said Deyo was able to grab Hopkins’ gun and the two men fought. During the struggle, Deyo was shot in the right leg. Authorities said he was able to wrestle the gun away from Hopkins and shoot him twice to stop him before calling police.

First-degree kidnapping is a felony punishable by an automatic life sentence. First-degree robbery and first-degree burglary are felonies punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com