OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Ottumwa police say a man is in custody after a stabbing death at a motel. Officers found 43-year-old Joshua David Barnhill, of Ottumwa, suffering from a stab wound Friday night at the Stardust Motel. He died at a local hospital. Police say 39-year-old Robert Wayne Milford Jr. was later arrested in Ottumwa and jailed on suspicion of second-degree murder, providing false information to a police officer and possession of methamphetamine. Police say the men were staying in separate rooms at the motel when the stabbing occurred.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A second suspect is charged in a shooting in Des Moines that killed one person and injured two others. Des Moines police say 18-year-old Mohaned Musa Ishag of Des Moines was arrested and charged Friday with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. The shooting on Monday killed 40-year-old Frederick McCuller II and injured two other men. Seventeen-year-old Danil James Deng was charged earlier this week in adult court with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. Police said in a news release that investigators believe the two suspects intentionally fired several shots at the victims.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A group of parents of disabled students has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to strike down Iowa’s law banning schools from requiring masks, arguing it endangers their health and denies equal access to education. The lawsuit is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and disability rights organizations. It adds to the legal pressure facing the law as virus cases and hospitalizations climb in Iowa to their highest levels since last winter. Gov. Kim Reynolds defended the law at a news conference Thursday, saying it lets parents choose whether their students should wear masks. She says those who feel unsafe in classrooms can enroll in online-only programs.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A parole officer who shot a suspect in a confrontation that saw the officer also injured has been cleared by a prosecutor of wrongdoing. The Daily Nonpareil reports that Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber issued a report clearing Officer Mike Brown in the Aug. 20 shooting in Council Bluffs. The report says the shooting stemmed from officers’ attempts to arrest Brandon Hines and a woman on warrants. Investigators say Hines rammed an officer’s car and drove toward Brown as officers tried to arrest him on warrants. Investigators say Brown fired his gun six times, hitting Hines in the shoulder and hand, before Hine’s car hit Brown. Hines was later arrested in neighboring Omaha, Nebraska, where he was taken to a hospital.
LeCLAIRE, Iowa (AP) — Officials for LeClaire in eastern Iowa say the city was scammed out of more than $220,000 by thieves posing as vendors the city has worked with. The Quad-City Times reports that $222,373 in city funds were sent to three fraudulent accounts that had been disguised to resemble those of legitimate city vendors. Officials say the scam occurred over a four month period starting in November. City Administrator Ed Choate said the city has recovered $120,618 by freezing the accounts. Choate says the city is continuing to work with the FBI, the city’s bank and its insurance carrier to recover or reach a settlement for the remaining funds amount of about $102,000.
