Two people suspected of being involved in numerous rural burglaries in Shelby County have been charged in connection with the crimes. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says 52-year old John Piper and 31-year old Sara Grulke, both of Harlan, face two felony counts of Burglary in the 3rd degree and a felony count of Possession of an Offensive Weapon. Piper was being held in the Shelby County Jail on $35,000 bond.  Grulke has appeared before the magistrate and was released on her own recognizance.

Authorities say an investigation into the crimes which occurred over the past several months identified the suspects, who were specifically charged with a residential burglary in the 1800 block of Oak Road, and a second residential burglary in the 1100 block of Ironwood Road.

An investigation into the other burglary incidents remains ongoing.

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The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested on drug charges Tuesday evening. A search warrant executed at 108 W. Nuckols Street in Red Oak just before 9:30-p.m. resulted in charges against 20-year-old Jesse Dean Uhlmann, of Red Oak, and 55-year old’s Vicki Susan Huber, of Red Oak, and Clifford Dale Palmer, of Omaha. Uhlmann was arrested for delivery of methamphetamine, possession of meth and possession of marijuana. Huber and Palmer were  arrested for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

All three suspects were being held in the Montgomery County Jail, with Uhlmann’s bond set at  $50,000. Huber and Palmer were being held on bonds amounting to $1,000 each. Red Oak Police and the Red Oak and Montgomery County K-9 units assisted in the search and arrests.

Authorities in Montgomery County are asking for your help in solving a theft. The Sheriff’s Department says sometime between 6-pm Monday and 8-a.m. Tuesday, someone took an electrical cord from a Peck grain auger at 1079 State Highway 48, in Elliott. If you have information about the crime, call Crimestoppers at 1-800-432-1001.

Sheriff’s Officials in Montgomery County are asking for the public’s help in locating two Red Oak men who were involved in a fight Tuesday evening. 42-year old Jason Ray Cornelison and 30-year old Matthew Lee Gusman are accused of striking 21-year old Cody Johnson, of Red Oak, multiple times, with a blunt object or objects. Johnson was beaten after a fight broke out at the intersection of O Avenue and 250th Street, south of Stanton. Authorities were notified of the incident at around 5:30-p.m.

Johnson was flown by helicopter to Omaha, for treatment of serious injuries. Authorities say Cornelison is 6-feet tall, and weighs 230 pounds. He has brown hair, blue eyes and a medium skin complexion. Gusman is 5-feeet 3-inches tall, weighs  145 pounds, and has a goatee, black hair, brown eyes, and a medium complexion.

If you know where Jason Cornelison or Matthew Lee Gusman are, please contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 712-623-5107, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-432-1001.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for a string of bank robberies in Nebraska and Iowa. U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg said in a news release Tuesday that 53-year-old Cameron Mitchell will be required to pay more than $74,000 in restitution for the robberies.

Prosecutors say Mitchell robbed seven banks in Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs between June and August of 2012. Mitchell was accused of walking into bank lobbies armed with a handgun, and taking money from teller drawers.

Mitchell will be required to serve five years of supervised release after his sentence.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for a string of bank robberies in Nebraska and Iowa. U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg says in a news release that 53-year-old Cameron Mitchell will be required to pay more than $74,000 in restitution for the robberies. Prosecutors say Mitchell robbed seven banks in Omaha, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs between June and August of 2012. Mitchell was accused of walking into bank lobbies armed with a handgun, and taking money from teller drawers.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — An Ames man has been accused of displaying a handgun during an argument with a driver near Iowa State University. ISU police say 22-year-old Patrick Allen Stall followed a car Monday to a parking lot near the campus athletic center. Witnesses told police that Stall flashed his car lights, honked his horn and gestured toward the other vehicle. When the car he was following stopped, Stall is accused of displaying a handgun from under his coat. Stall later surrendered to county authorities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A legislative panel has approved a measure limiting the use of restraints on pregnant inmates. A subcommittee approved the bill on a 2 to 1 vote yesterday, and it now goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill would ban correctional institutions from using restraints on known pregnant women, particularly during labor, delivery and postpartum recovery, except under certain circumstances.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have apprehended an inmate who briefly escaped from a work release facility in Davenport. Corrections spokesman Fred Scaletta says 35-year-old Shawn Eugene Leewas placed on escape status yesterday morning after an unexcused absence from the Davenport Work Release Facility. A news release says he was captured a few hours later.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican state Sen. Brad Zaun says he’s running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tom Latham. Zaun announced his campaign Tuesday afternoon in Clive. Zaun, a former mayor of Urbandale, has served in the state Senate since 2005. He previously ran for Congress in 2010, losing to former Democratic U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell.

Latham, a Republican, announced last month his plans to retire after finishing his 10th term. Several other candidates have already announced plans to run in the GOP primary race for the seat.

A U-S District Court judge in Council Bluffs has sentenced a Missouri man to prison for his role in the June 2012 robbery of a bank in Hamburg. 48-year old Nathan Wayne Smith, of Lexington, MO., was sentenced Tuesday by Judge James Gritzner to 77 months (or nearly 6 1/2 years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for bank robbery.
On October 18th, 2013, after a three day trial, the jury found Smith guilty of robbing the Great Western Bank of Hamburg. The evidence produced at trial showed that on June 11th, 2012, Smith traveled from his home in Lexington to Hamburg, arriving at the Great Western Bank around 9:30 a.m. Smith approached a teller in the bank, placed a plastic bag on the counter in front of her and told her to fill the bag with money. After obtaining the money from the teller, Smith ran from the bank. Smith was identified as the party responsible when Buckner, MO. police officers recalled stopping a vehicle on the afternoon of June 11tg, 2012, that matched the description of the vehicle disseminated after-the-fact by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Buckner, Missouri, is located approximately 150 miles away from Hamburg.
The investigation was conducted by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckner, Missouri Police Department, the Lexington, Missouri Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.