The prosecution rested its case yesterday afternoon in the first-degree murder trial of Cristhian Bahena Rivera in Davenport. Earlier yesterday, an agent who oversaw the 2018 investigation into the disappearance of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says a shortage of Spanish-speaking officers delayed and hindered his ability to question Bahena Rivera. Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta testified yesterday he wanted to speak with Bahena Rivera after investigators linked him to a car seen on video driving near where Tibbetts disappeared while running near Brooklyn in Poweshiek County. But Vileta says that took four days because investigators needed to question Bahena Rivera in Spanish and, in his words, “we didn’t have any Spanish speakers.”
A pedestrian suffered severe injuries after being hit by a vehicle in Tiffin around 8 a.m. yesterday in the intersection of Deer View Avenue & Jackson Street. The pedestrian was a 60-year-old woman. The driver, a 17-year-old, remained at the scene and was not hurt.
The Linn County Board of Supervisors rescinded its mask regulations yesterday. The 2-1 vote means the requirement to wear a mask inside county buildings was lifted immediately. Supervisor Stacey Walker was the lone “no” vote.
In another sign of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eastern Iowa Airport will end its health-screening program for outbound passengers as of July 1st. The partnership with Mercy Medical Center launched in January as a way to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Airport director Marty Lenss said if conditions change, the program can be restarted.
Democrat Dave Muhlbauer announced the launch of his campaign for U.S. Senate against Republican Sen. Charles Grassley yesterday. Muhlbauer is a fifth-generation family farmer, former Vice Chair of the Crawford County Board of Supervisors and member of the Iowa Association of Counties. He says his campaign will be focused on giving rural economies and working families in Iowa a louder voice in Congress.
A stabbing in Mason City Sunday night left one person injured and another person in custody. It happened just before 7:30 p.m. at a residence. Mason City police said a female victim was stabbed in the head and arms. Her injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening. Police arrested 23-year-old Arissa Ledvina and charged her with felony willful injury.
Police say two people died in a fiery accident in Des Moines after the car they were in left a traffic stop, then crashed. Police say it happened around 1:30 Sunday afternoon after a Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped the car on suspicion of speeding. Investigators say the car took off, and the deputy gave chase until he lost the car. A pedestrian later told the deputy there had been a crash just north of River Drive Park, and police say it was the same car that had left the traffic stop. The car was fully in flames by the time first responders reached it. The two people in the car died at the scene.
A teenager charged with first-degree murder and other counts in the fatal shooting of another man in downtown Sioux City has entered a plea of not guilty. 17-year-old Dwight Evans entered his plea yesterday to the murder count, as well as going armed with intent and two drug counts. Prosecutors say Evans shot and killed 22-year-old Martez Harrison of Sioux City on May 1 following Harrison’s fight with Evans’ friend, 20-year-old Lawrence Canady. Police say the fight occurred after Canady attacked Harrison’s girlfriend. Canady earlier entered a plea of not guilty to willful injury and serious assault.
The murder trial for a man charged in the stabbing death last year of a Wilton man has been moved from Cedar County to Dubuque County. The change in venue ordered Friday came after an estimated 1 in 4 people in Cedar County had formed an opinion on whether 21-year-old Milton Serrano Jr. was guilty of killing 19-year-old Chantz Stevens. Police say Serrano stabbed Stevens to death after Serrano was asked to leave a July 19 party at a home south of Clarence. A judge postponed Serrano’s first-degree murder trial until Aug. 24 to accommodate the criminal docket in Dubuque County.
