DES MOINES, Iowa – The United State Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, reports a Waukee man was sentenced Friday (2/14/25) to 32 years in federal prison for fraud, money laundering, and fentanyl distribution. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, 36-year-old Stephan Rashad Haley, also known as “Ace” and “Bosh,” acquired large quantities of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl from multiple drug sources and distributed the fentanyl-laced pills in the Southern District of Iowa. During an October 2023 search warrant at Haley’s Waukee residence, law enforcement located a stolen, loaded pistol, marijuana, cocaine, and pills containing fentanyl. Haley used the stolen pistol during an October 2023 shooting at an apartment complex in West Des Moines. At sentencing, the Court found Haley was responsible for more than 12 kilograms of fentanyl.

From May to August 2023, Haley also participated in a vast, multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. Working with coconspirators located throughout the country, Haley recruited at least three other individuals to open fraudulent bank accounts and deposit stolen checks. The portion of the conspiracies in which Haley participated caused an intended loss of over $3.5 million to more than 10 victims.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Haley will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Haley was also ordered to pay $66,437 in restitution.

Ten of Haley’s co-defendants in the fraud and money laundering case remain set for trial, currently scheduled to begin on June 23, 2025. Eight co‑defendants have pleaded guilty.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and West Des Moines Police Department, with assistance from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Clive Police Department, United States Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Des Moines Police Department, Secret Service, and numerous state and local agencies from across the country.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Radio Iowa) – There was an uptick in Iowa home sales in January, plus a dramatic increase in the number of homes put up for sale. According to data from Iowa REALTORS, there was a four-point-eight percent increase in the number of home sales that closed last month compared to January of last year. The group’s president says that’s an indicator home buyers are accepting higher interest rates as normal. The median price for Iowa home sales in January was 220-thousand dollars — that’s up two-point-three percent from a year ago. The number of Iowa single family homes listed for sale in January grew by nearly 30 percent.

Read more, HERE.

(Radio Iowa) –  State regulators have issued a total of 80-thousand dollars’ worth of fines to three different companies that Iowans may use to place online bets on sports. Churchill Downs Technology, also known as Twin Spires, is paying the 20-thousand dollar fine for either contacting or setting up online wagering accounts for 17 people on the state’s so-called self-exclusion list. It means those people voluntarily asked to be prohibited from entering a casino or placing bets. Penn Sports Interactive — the sports betting operation associated with the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs — is paying a 20-thousand dollar for letting 51 people place proposition bets on men’s basketball games between N-C-A-A teams and teams in the N-A-I-A.

That type of betting market not allowed in Iowa. Penn Sports was fined another 20-thousand dollars for sending two marketing emails to someone who put themselves on the state’s self-exclusion list so they would not get those sorts of email. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission also issued a 20-thousand dollar fine against Circa Sports, which offered certain types of wagers on an Iowa versus Michigan game that are not allowed under Iowa law.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 2:50-a.m. today (Saturday), in Red Oak, resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police report 37-year-old Jose Alfredo Perez-Gomez was taken into custody in the 900 block of Valley Street in Red Oak, and charged with OWI/1st offense. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

Atlantic, IA – The Atlantic Community School District (ACSD) is reminding families that the deadline for open enrollment applications for the 2025-2026 school year is fast approaching. All applications must be submitted by March 1, 2025, to be considered for the upcoming academic year.

Open enrollment allows families residing in one Iowa school district to enroll their children in another public school district. This process provides parents with greater flexibility in choosing the best educational setting for their children. Parents and guardians interested in open enrollment should complete and submit the required forms before the deadline. Late applications may be subject to restrictions or may not be accepted, per Iowa Department of Education regulations.

For more information or to obtain an open enrollment application, please visit the Atlantic Community School District website at ACSD Website or contact the district office at 712-243-4252 or jnicklaus@atlanticiaschools.org

(Radio Iowa) – The fine for businesses that violate Iowa’s child labor laws by having teens work too many hours or work too late at night has been lowered this week. The penalty had been $10,000, but has been lowered to $2500 for having a teenager work beyond the allowed time limits in state law. Mitchell Mahan, an attorney with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, says $10,000 is the maximum amount for any child labor violation, including a worksite fatality if the employee is under 18.

“If a child is in the wrong occupation which is presumptively more dangerous, we still have a $10,000 penalty that applies,” Mahan says. “It just seemed, reading the statute, if the highest we could go is $10,000, maybe it shouldn’t apply to working 10 minutes late.”

Iowa Capitol’s western facade (RI file photo)

Peter Hird of the Iowa Federation of Labor says it’s the wrong approach to enforcing child labor limits.

“We have seen examples in Iowa and other states where younger children are working night shifts or on job sites during the day. We believe the law should act as a deterrent to discourage employers from employing children at times when kids should either be receiving education or getting the necessary rest,” Hird says. “If Iowa were to find a dozen kids working on a night shift…this rule would be a penalty break for those bad actors. If anything, penalties should be increased for this type of behavior.”

Governor Reynolds signed child labor changes into law in 2023 to allow 14- and 15-year-old olds to work up to six hours on a school day and ’til 9 p.m. on school nights or until 11 p.m. during the summer. Iowa law also allows children of any age to work at a business owned by their family. Under a rule change that took effect this week, a parent no longer has to be present when their child works at the family’s business.

The changes were discussed earlier this week during a meeting of the legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the charges against a Decatur County man who rammed the sheriff’s patrol vehicle with a tractor. Gerry Greenland was convicted of attempted murder and assault on a peace officer after ramming the Sheriff’s S-U-V with hay bale tines on the front of a tractor. The sheriff was responding to a fight involving Greenland and family members at a farm near Grand River in May of 2019. His S-U-V was damaged, but the sheriff escaped injury.

Greenland’s appeal said the S-U-V was unmarked, and there was no evidence he was attempting to kill the sheriff. He also called for the two charges to be merged. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the Sheriff’s S-U-V had flashing lights, Greenland had adjusted the height of the bale tines and shifted gears when the tractor slowed.

The Supreme Court says the separate actions of Greenland were enough to justify the two separate charges.