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Adams County Sheriff’s report, 5/29/22

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May 29th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests. On Saturday (May 28th), the Sheriff’s Office received a call about a man laying on the road at 220th Street and Fig Avenue in rural Adams County. Upon further investigation, 50-year-old James Ross Woods was arrested for Public Intoxication. He was transported to the Adams County Jail and held on a $300 bond. And, a little after 11-p.m. Saturday, Deputies responded to a call about another man sitting on the road, this time at 1801 Quincy Street, in Corning. 38-year-old David Christopher Yazell was arrested for Public Intoxication. His bond was also set at $300.

On May 23rd, at around 5:34-a.m., Adams County Deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle speeding 78 mph in a 55 mph zone on Highway 34, near the intersection with Dogwood. The driver, identified as Caleb Driggers, of Omaha, was arrested for Driving While Revoked and No SR-22 insurance. He was also cited for speeding. Driggers was held in the Adams County Jail on a $1,300 bond.

And, on May 19th at around 5:03-p.m., Adams County Deputies saw 34-year-old Sunita Phipps, of Creston, enter a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, and begin driving. At the intersection of Corning Carl Road and John Street, Deputies initiated a traffic stop and ended-up placing Phipps under arrest for Driving While Suspended, Interference with Official Acts, Failure to Provide Insurance (SR-22 required), along with other traffic violations. Phipps was transported to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

**Any potential charges identified above are merely allegations, and and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.**

1 dead and 1 injured in Montgomery County motorcycle trike accident

News

May 28th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

An accident involving a motorcycle trike in Montgomery County, Saturday morning, left the operator seriously injured and his passenger dead. Both were from Stanton. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2018 Harley Davidson operated by 66-year-old Wendell Keith Gourley was westbound on Highway 34 at around 10:10-a.m., when a gust of wind pushed the trike off the road to the right. The cycle collided with a cable barrier and six barrier posts before it rolled onto its top.

Wendell Gourley and his passenger, 66-year-old Jeannie Marie Schomburg-Gourley, were ejected from the motorcycle. She died at the scene. Wendell Gourley was transported by Air Med to the UNMC in Omaha. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management assisted the Patrol at the scene.

Governor announces head of Iowa Veterans Affairs has resigned

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is planning to consolidate the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown into one agency. The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs helps Iowa veterans and their families secure military benefits and it oversees the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. According to a news release from the governor’s office, department director Steve Lukan is “leaving for employment in the private sector” and has resigned.

Reynolds has appointed Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Matthew Peterson as interim director of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The governor says she’s exploring a merger to house all veterans services in one agency.

The Iowa Veterans Home sits on a 150 acre campus and has about 500 residents. It’s the fifth largest veterans home in the country. The Department of Veterans Affairs has offices at Camp Dodge in Johnston. The agency’s website
still lists Lukan as its executive director.

Reynolds says she’s taking ‘pro-active’ steps on school safety

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May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) -Governor Kim Reynolds says she believes the State of Iowa could use federal pandemic relief money on additional school security measures. Reynolds says banning semi-automatic weapons like the one used to kill two teachers and 19 students in a Texas school isn’t the cure to mass shootings.  “You can’t focus on one thing and think it’s going to fix it because then the other thing that you do is you start to give some false sense of security that that’s it and we’re all going to be safe,” Reynolds says. “We all have to vigilant in our response looking for ways to keep kids safe — and people.”

Earlier this spring, Reynolds met with a company that digitizes the layout of schools, so those maps could be used by law enforcement in an active shooter situation. The state may also buy an app that lets students anonymously submit tips that a classmate may be threatening their school. “One of the things we wanted to make sure we had in place also is you need a central location, so we have somebody there that’s actually hearing, because it’s not an 8-5,” Reynolds says. “A lot of times those things happen later at night.”

Reynolds signed a law in 2018 requiring every Iowa school to have a high-quality emergency plan, conduct annual reviews and practice the response to an active shooter. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management also conducts threat assessments. “I think they’ve done about 54 since 2015 with the different school districts,” Reynolds says. “So what we’re looking at is maybe contract that out and provide that for all school districts.” Those could be done over the summer, according to Reynolds.

IA Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a Press Conference (File Photo)

Reynolds says there’s no single answer to what happened in Texas, but the governor says she is concerned by reports the shooter was in the school for an hour before law enforcement intervened. “As we have these horrific things happen we need to do an honest assessment and we need to be forthcoming about what happened and what we do differently going forward,” Reynolds says, “and we talk about that and we implement that into the training.”

The Texas shooter shared his plans on social media right before heading to the school and Reynolds says she’s troubled by news he may have indicated at the age of 14 that he’d go into a school with a gun when he was a senior. “I cannot imagine what these families — parents, grandparents, spouses, the school staff, the community, the local law enforcement to have to walk into that scene, the country, I mean, it is horrific,” Reynolds says. “…You can do everything you can and continue to evaluate and be as prepared as you can to make sure that things like this doesn’t happen, but there is evil that exists in the world and if you’re determined to do something like this, you’re probably going to find the means to do it, but let’s be proactive.”

Reynolds says the Governor’s School Safety Bureau is submitting applications for federal grants and is coordinating state agency efforts to plan for and respond to threats in Iowa schools.

Polk County man sentenced on Child Porn & gun charges

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, IA – A man from Polk County was sentenced Friday (May 27) to 55-yearsd-in prison, following his guilty pleas to production of child pornography, receipt of child porn, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities say 62-year-old Gary Dale Elliott, Sr., of Des Moines, has a long criminal history that includes a 1988 conviction resulting from the death of his infant son. Elliott spent approximately 27 years in prison for that offense before being paroled in 2015.

The investigation into Elliott’s latest activities began in early 2021, when a woman reported to law enforcement that she had found thumb drives containing child pornography in Elliott’s Des Moines residence. Elliott, a felon, later threatened the woman while armed with a loaded gun.

In February 2021, officers executed a search warrant at Elliott’s residence and seized computers, thumb drives, and other electronic devices. Officers searched those devices and located thousands of images and videos of child pornography. The investigation also revealed that Elliott produced child pornography in 2018 by filming three minor victims with a camera hidden in the bathroom of his residence.

The matter was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department, Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

4 arrested on drug and theft charges in Fremont County

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Hamburg, Iowa) – A call to assist a motorist with a disabled vehicle, Thursday night in Fremont County, resulted in the arrest of four people from Kansas City, Kansas. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies responded to the area of I-29 southbound near mile-marker 5, at around 11:53-p.m., and upon arrival, located a silver Chrysler 300. They also observed indicators criminal activity.

Haskins

Misirlija

Thompson

Montgomery

The Mills County K9 Unit was called to assist and a K9 “Judge” alerted to controlled substances in the vehicle. A search was conducted, and stolen property and narcotics were located.

Those taken into custody for Theft in the 2nd Degree and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, include:

  • 58-year-old Carl Haskins
  • 41-year-old Jamishia Misirlija
  • 57-year-old Ellen Montgomery, and
  • 59-year-old Janice Thompson.

Thompson was additionally charged with Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs.

Disclaimer: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Red Oak man arrested in connection w/a Sexual Assault

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Sidney, Iowa) – Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope, Friday (today), said his deputies, on Tuesday, arrested a Red Oak man following an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that took place Sunday, in Fremont County. 18-year-old Jordan Clements faces a charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, after allegedly forcefully sexually assaulting a juvenile.

Clements was being held in the Fremont County Jail on a $10,000 cash only bond. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Red Oak Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Disclaimer: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Jordan Clements

Central IA man arrested in Ringgold County after being helped by a deputy

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Mount Ayr, Iowa) –  A Ringgold County Sheriff’s Deputy observed a man walking west on Highway 2 through the City of Mt. Ayr early this (Friday) morning, ended-up arresting the subject on a drug charge. Authorities say the Deputy stopped at around 2:15-a.m. to see if the man needed help. The subject, identified as 23-year-old Roman Wendel Vanessen, of Norwalk, mentioned he had no where to stay, and that his belongings were at his girlfriend’s apartment.

When the Deputy and Vanessen went to the apartment to gather his things, the Deputy noticed the man also picked-up drug paraphernalia. Roman Vanessen was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was booked into the Ringgold County Jail and held on $300 bond, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

Roman Vanessen

South-central Iowa man sentenced for making false statements to the SSA

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 58-year-old Troy John Pitzen, of Peru, Iowa, was sentenced May 26, 2022, to 24 months in prison following his guilty plea to making false statements to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Pitzen’s term of imprisonment will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Between 2006 and 2017, Pitzen stole approximately $371,356 in Social Security survivors benefits belonging to his three minor children. Those benefits were paid to Pitzen, as the children’s representative payee, following the death of the children’s mother. During that time, Pitzen repeatedly submitted paperwork to the SSA falsely claiming the children were living with him and he was using the children’s survivors benefits to care for the children. In fact, the children were living with and being cared for by other individuals while Pitzen continued to receive the children’s benefits and converted most of those benefits to his own use.

The matter was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Supreme Court denies appeal in Appanoose County murder case

News

May 27th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a man found guilty of brutally murdering a hunter in Appanoose County. Ethan Davis of Promise City was found guilty of first-degree murder in a random attack on hunter Curtis Ross. Ross’s body was found in a public hunting area the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2017, he had been shot and stabbed several times. Ross appealed his conviction saying a jury instruction on reasonable doubt was not adequate, and an instruction given to the jury after they appeared deadlocked pushed them to a verdict.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruling says the instruction given to the jury was adequate. And it says the jury continued deliberating for four-and-half hours after the second instruction — which the Court says was ample time for them to discuss the evidence and thoroughly evaluate each other’s opinions.