The Union County Sheriff’s Office says an Afton resident reported on June 19th, that someone slashed the tires on his Honda Civic and Chevy Tahoe, while the vehicles were parked outside his home in the 100 block of W. Railroad. The incident occurred sometime overnight or early that morning. The loss was estimated at $700.

Criminals who prey on some of the most vulnerable Iowans are the subject of a Congressional hearing tomorrow (Wednesday) in Washington D-C. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll preside over a Judiciary Committee hearing on how best to protect older Americans from financial exploitation. “The problem is growing as our population ages,” Grassley says. “Studies vary, but the annual financial loss by victims of this exploitation is estimated to be at least $2.9 billion, that would be the least, and 36-billion at the most.”

Two Iowans are scheduled to testify at the (9 AM/Central) hearing before the Senate panel: Donna Harvey, director of the Iowa Department on Aging, and Karla Sibert of Palo, the daughter of elderly victims of financial exploitation. “The problem is growing rapidly because scammers innovate to ensnare more victims and evade law enforcement,” Grassley says. “The crime is often under-reported so available information might greatly underestimate the impact on older Americans.”

They include so-called “sweetheart scams,” where isolated elderly people are pressed for money by thieves who pretend to befriend them. Grassley says, “These also include grandparent scams where fraudsters present themselves to senior citizens as a grandchild in distress in hopes of convincing that grandparent to send cash or give out credit card numbers.”

Grassley is crafting legislation that would target elder abuse. He says the bill will promote more effective interagency coordination, training to improve the investigation and prosecution of elder abuse, victims’ assistance, and tougher penalties for scam artists. Grassley says financial exploitation is the most widespread form of elder abuse.

(Radio Iowa)

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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• 2 cups fresh boiled corn, cut off cob
• 1 cup diced green pepper
• 1 cup diced sweet red pepper
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons lime juice

In large bowl, combine corn, peppers, celery, parsley, onions, cheese, cumin, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce and cayenne pepper.  Mix well.  In small bowl, combine oil and garlic.  Microwave on high 60 seconds.  Cool; whisk in lime juice.  Pour over corn mixture; toss to coat.  Cover; refrigerate until serving.

(Pat Butler, Lacona)

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety say the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations is looking into an Officer-involved shooting that took place late Monday night, in Boone. The Boone County Dispatch Center received a 911 call at approximately 10:15 pm in reference to a report of a male subject with a gun threatening people.  Officers with the Boone Police Department and Deputies with the Boone County Sheriff’s office responded to the area of 332 West 2nd Street in Boone.

Upon arriving in the area of 332 West 2nd Street, law enforcement located a male subject that matched the description that was given to the Boone County Dispatch Center.  When the male subject was confronted by law enforcement, the subject drew a gun from his waistband.  Law enforcement officers spoke to the subject and ordered the subject to drop the gun numerous times and the subject refused.

After several minutes, the subject raised his arm and allegedly aimed the gun at the officers and approached the officers.  Law enforcement officers engaged the subject and fired their weapons striking the subject.  The subject was immediately given medical aid and was transported to the Boone County Hospital where he later died from the injuries.

The body has been transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny, Iowa, where an autopsy will be conducted today (Tuesday). The officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave until the completion of the investigation, per Boone Police Department policy.

Agents from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Crime Scene Team from the Iowa DCI’s Criminalistics Laboratory responded to the scene.   No additional information will be released at this time.

(Updated 10:38-a.m. w/additional details about the arrest)

A man who was listed as missing and escaped from the Newton Correctional Release Center Monday night was found early this (Tuesday) morning. Fred Scaletta with the Department of Corrections says Timothy Formaro, Jr., was located at around 3:30 a.m. about one-mile north of the Newton facility. He was found in a ditch along Highway 14. State Patrol Aircraft used thermal imaging to assist in locating Formaro.

He was apprehended in a joint Law Enforcement effort by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa State Patrol, Fifth Judicial District Warrant Team and Newton Correctional Facility Security staff. Formaro was transported back to the Newton Medium Correctional Facility and was placed into secured housing pending internal disciplinary procedures and criminal charges.

Timothy J. Formaro, Jr.

Earlier, the Iowa Department of Corrections said Formaro was not present during a routine head count at 9:20-p.m., Monday, and after further search by security staff was been determined that Formaro escaped from the facility. The Newton Correctional Release Center is a minimum security facility.

Formaro was serving a 25 year sentence from Clarke County for Prohibited Acts and Domestic Abuse assault.

Drought conditions continue to get worse in Iowa. National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Small says information from the National Drought Mitigation Center now shows 19 of Iowa’s 99 counties are at least partially in a moderate drought, while 56 counties are considered abnormally dry.

“If you go back just three months ago no part of the state was in any drought. If you go back to last week there was about 27 percent of the state. Now that’s jumped up to 44 percent,” Small says. Small says the below average rainfall across much of the state has caused the drought to worsen.

“This is the peak heating of the summer. The warmed days like this are prone to drying things up quite a bit. June is also typically our wettest month of the year and we really haven’t reached those levels at all in many parts,” Small says, “So that’s why the drought is worsening in many areas.” Small says the dry conditions have happened rather quickly and could turn around just as quickly with some rain.

“This time of year a big thunderstorm outbreak and torrential rains could certainly eliminate it in one event. The worst conditions we have are across the state right now is a D-1 drought, in the moderate category. If it gets worse than that it would take more than one event,” Small says. Some areas of the state got rainfall this weekend, but the forecast isn’t showing any extended changes in the amount of precipitation.

(Radio Iowa)

Eight suspects from the Omaha-Council Bluffs area are now charged in a series of more than 50 automatic teller machine thefts in Iowa, Nebraska and five other states. Omaha Police Sergeant Meg Fricke says officers launched the investigation several years ago.  “They’ve been working on this case and this series since 2013 putting in so many hours and just hard detective work, picking up every lead and following up,” Fricke says. “In fact, we made an arrest in 2014 but that did not stop these suspects at all.”

The suspects are all from the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area but the thefts took place across the region. She says all of the A-T-M thefts employed very similar tactics.
“They’ll use a vehicle and attach a chain and pull it right out of the building and take the ATM and remove the cash from the inside,” Fricke says. “There’s been over 50 that we’ve followed in this series.” It took a few years to catch all of the suspects but Fricke says this case should serve as an example to all thieves that the law -will- find you, eventually.

“We use a lot of video in these cases,” she says. “We’re following up with DNA, with witnesses. Everything is trackable and anything that you might use or have, we may get access to and use that to help solve our cases.” Police believe the eight suspects took around 50 ATMs from seven states: Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma and Colorado.

The suspects range in age from 24 to 57 and are identified as: Darnell Gordon, Lyle Gordon, Wakonda Hazel, Brenis Vaughn, Kentrell Reed, Bajah Pittman and Isaiah Brown. The first suspect arrested, Larry Gordon, was charged in 2014. Additional indictments are expected.

(Radio Iowa)

The U-S-D-A’s latest crop and weather report for Iowa shows most of the state has enough moisture in the soil for crops to handle the high heat. There are pockets of the state, however, like west central Iowa, that are too dry and corn leaves are starting to curl. Other areas are too wet, particularly after last week’s isolated heavy rains. North Liberty got the most rain last week — a soaking of nearly seven-and-a-half inches.

Still, the U-S-D-A has rated 79 percent of Iowa’s corn crop in good to excellent condition and 77 percent of soybean fields are in good to excellent shape.

(Radio Iowa)