The Des Moines City Council and Des Moines Police Department held true to their promise to crack down on interruptions from the audience at the meeting Monday night. 26-year-old John Noble of Des Moines was charged with trespass and interference with official acts for interrupting the meeting and disobeying officers outside the council chambers. Police say Noble was among a group of residents who were escorted out of the meeting after being disruptive. Once the group moved to a public viewing area outside the chambers, police say Noble continued to bang on doors and was warned repeatedly to stop blocking doors open with his foot as others passed through. Officers eventually took him into custody after he continued to ignore their commands. The Des Moines City Council enacted new rules for public conduct before Monday’s meeting. The council’s previous meeting two weeks before was postponed after protesters interrupted. That meeting was the first in-person meeting of the council in more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Murder charges have been dropped against two more men in connection with a double homicide in Webster County. The bodies of Jamael Cox and Tyrone Cunningham were found on June 16, 2020, in Fort Dodge. Both men had been shot to death. The investigation originally led to the arrest of five men. Two counts of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm as a felon remain in place against Michael Shivers of Eagle Grove and James Davis Jr. of Fort Dodge. Their trials are scheduled to begin on November 16. Charges of second-degree murder were dismissed in April against Darryll Jones of Fort Dodge. A judge has now also dropped charges of second-degree murder against Jeremiah Hatten of Fort Dodge, and second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon against Michael James Wells of Fort Dodge. The Webster County Attorney’s Office says it has learned additional information that leads it to believe Jones, Hatten, and Wells could not be proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.
From the Associated Press
Gun deaths have been surging in Iowa as a law is set to go into effect that will allow people to more easily buy handguns and carry them in public without training or a permit. The Iowa Department of Public Health said Tuesday that a record 353 people died from gunshot wounds in Iowa in 2020, a 23% increase from the previous high in 2019. This year saw 85 firearm homicides, an 80% increase. Suicides still made up three of every four gun deaths in the state. A leading gun violence researcher said he expects Iowa’s sweeping handgun deregulation that begins Thursday to make things even worse.
Officials have identified the man whose body was pulled from a south-central Iowa lake over the weekend. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday in a news release that the body of 33-year-old Joshua Sweeden, of Indianola. was found Sunday morning in Lake Ahquabi near Indianola. Officials say Sweeden’s body was found near the beach and a swimming area at the lake. His body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Ankeny for an autopsy. Officials have said no foul play is suspected in Sweeden’s death.
A 20-year-old Iowa man accused of hiding in the backseat a Nebraska woman’s car and using zip ties, duct tape and homemade chloroform to abduct her has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. The Sioux City Journal reports that Zack Smith, of Bronson, entered the pleas Monday to third-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse. His bond has been set at $250,000. Sioux City police say the woman was reported missing June 3 the morning after her car was found abandoned with her purse and cellphone inside. Police say the woman managed to escape from a storage shed on Smith’s property while police were searching for her.
Police arrested an Ankeny man after he allegedly threatened to blow up a McDonald’s restaurant for neglecting to include dipping sauce with his order of chicken McNuggets. Television station WHO 13 reports that police in the Des Moines suburb arrested the 42-year-old man after he admitted to investigators that he called the Ankeny restaurant Saturday evening upon realizing his order mistakenly didn’t include the dipping sauce. During the call, he threatened to blow up the restaurant and punch an employee. The man was charged with a felony of false report of an explosive or incendiary device. He was booked into the Polk County Jail on Saturday and released on a bond Sunday.
A north-central Iowa man has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, accused of causing the death of another man during a fight. The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office says 51-year-old Robert Laverty, of Swea City, was charged last week in the April death of 41-year-old Casey Tobin, also of Swea City. Sheriff’s officials say deputies found Tobin on April 3 unconscious on a Swea City street corner. Authorities believe Tobin and Laverty had fought earlier in the day, and that Tobin died of his injuries from the fight. Laverty was arrested in the case on Thursday.
Republicans eyeing a 2024 White House run are wasting no time in jockeying for a strong position in what could be an extremely crowded field of contenders. The politicking will only intensify in the coming weeks, particularly in Iowa, home to the nation’s leadoff presidential caucuses and a state where conservative evangelicals play a significant role in steering the GOP’s direction. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is slated to visit the state on Tuesday. In the past week alone, Nikki Haley regaled activists in Iowa, Mike Pence courted donors in California and Donald Trump returned to the rally stage, teasing a third campaign for the White House.
