A judge says a hospital that treated a Cedar Rapids man for a gunshot wound after authorities say he killed his parents and sister must share his medical records with prosecutors. Judge Lars Anderson says Alexander Jackson waived the confidentiality of his medical information because he allowed police officers to be present during his treatment. The 20-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in last month’s shooting deaths of his parents, Jan and Melissa Jackson, and 19-year-old sister Sabrina at the family home. Prosecutors say that after killing his family members, Alexander Jackson called 911 to falsely claim that a masked intruder had broken into the home and killed his father and shot him in the foot. He was taken to St. Luke’s hospital for treatment.
Cedar Rapids police say it was 15-year-old Tyliyah Whitis of Peoria, Illinois that officers found with fatal gunshot wounds in a crashed vehicle in the southwest part of the city early Tuesday morning. Officers responded just before 6:30 a.m. to a report of a single-vehicle accident at the Hawthorne Hills Apartment Complex. They found a vehicle with extensive damage and a 15-year-old female in the driver’s seat with what appear to be gunshot wounds. The vehicle was registered to one of Whitis’ family members. An official cause of death is still pending a report from the Iowa State Medical Examiner. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The Waterloo Black Hawks invite cyclists to stop at the only ice rink on this year’s RAGBRAI route when riders visit the Cedar Valley next Wednesday. Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. that day, the rink will be open as a place to cool off from temperatures forecast to be in the 90s, following the 68-mile trip between Iowa Falls and Waterloo. Young Arena’s four-sided video scoreboard will be tuned-in to the Tokyo Olympics to keep visitors up-to-date, and the rink’s Cold Zone will be open to serve adult beverages to those age 21 and over. As an added incentive, riders who stop in can claim a voucher for a free ticket to a Black Hawks game during the 2021-2022 season.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says there is no evidence connecting the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson to the death of Mollie Tibbetts in 2018. Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted of murdering 20-year-old Tibbetts. 11-year-old Harrelson disappeared from Montezuma nearly two months ago, during Bahena Rivera’s murder trial. Defense attorneys for Bahena Rivera claimed the timing of Harrelson’s disappearance was not a coincidence. But Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said while investigators are open to any possibility regarding Harrelson’s disappearance, they believe the idea that Harrelson was sex trafficked may be a stretch. Mortvedt said the only thing in common between the two cases is that both victims lived in Poweshiek County.
A 15-year-old received non-life threatening injuries after a shooting in Waterloo Tuesday night. Just before 10 p.m., police responded to the 1000 block of Linn St. for a call of a shooting in progress. They discovered a 15-year-old had been shot. He was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Waterloo Police are still looking for a suspect, and no arrests have been made.
Authorities in Winneshiek County are asking for the public’s help to catch whoever is responsible for recent burglaries at TnA’s Lounge in Ridgway and at Twin Springs Supper Club near Decorah. Cash and items were taken from both locations. Anyone with information on either of these two cases is asked to contact the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office.
Coralville Mayor John Lundell announced he will not seek re-election to a fifth term. His current term ends on December 31st of this year. Lundell is completing his eighth year as Mayor after serving on the Coralville City Council for ten years. The 65-year old has been living in Coralville for 41 years and has also served on the Coralville Library Board of Trustees and Coralville Volunteer Fire Department.
A Mason City man caught with more than a pound of marijuana in Hancock County is admitting guilt. 21-year-old Nathan Ray Veal-Cox is scheduled to be sentenced August 31 for possession with intent to deliver marijuana and operating while intoxicated-1st offense. Authorities say Veal-Cox was pulled over on State Highway 17 on March 10. Law enforcement officers say the smell of marijuana was coming from the vehicle and Veal-Cox admitted to smoking the drug. That led to a search of his vehicle, where officers found more than a pound of raw marijuana in the trunk, along with an unloaded handgun, ammunition, several bundles of U.S. currency, a digital scale, and other items used in selling marijuana.
