An armed robber struck the Grinnell Dairy Queen last night. Grinnell Police Chief Jody Matherly says it was a lone gunman. "A male subject, wearing a multi-colored jacket with a hood, black gloves, approximately 20 to 30 years of age and brandishing a dark handgun entered the Diary Queen and did demand money from the store employees," he says.

The suspect was described as being about five foot eight and of medium build. Matherly says he made a clean get-a-way, but police have some leads. "The robber exited the Dairy Queen with an undisclosed amount of money and ran southbound through the alley. There were several other police agencies including the Iowa State Patrol and the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office that assisted in searching the area for the individual," Matherly says. "We have received some leads. We’re following up on those leads as we speak and the investigation is continuing."

No one was hurt in the robbery, which happened at about 9:20 last night (Monday). Grinnell’s Dairy Queen is located on Highway 146, about nine blocks away from the Grinnell College campus.

Authorities say a Boone man, who was shot by police officers Sunday night, was carrying an air pistol.

Twenty-seven-year-old Seth Miller died on Monday. Three police officers were involved in the shooting which occurred outside a bar in Boone called the Eastside Hideaway Lounge.

D.C.I. agent Michael Motsinger says all three officers fired their weapons at Miller when he refused to drop what appeared to be a handgun. "The officers encountered (Miller) in the alleyway and requested he drop his handgun on several occasions," Motsinger told Radio Iowa. "The suspect did not do that and the officers had to respond with force."

The officers said Miller raised his weapon in their direction before they fired. A total of four rounds were fired, with at least one hitting Miller. Motsinger says the air pistol looks very much like real gun.

"It is a black, handgun style Powerline Model 15XT air pistol and there are no markings that identify it as an air pistol, so the officers have to assume that it’s an actual handgun," Motsinger said.

The incident occurred shortly after 10:45 p.m., which also limited the officers’ ability to see what Miller was holding. Motsinger says there are no streetlights in the alleyway and the officers only had flashlights to aid with visibility.

Boone Police Captain John Sloter, Officer Dave Powers and Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy Cole Hoffman have all been placed on paid administrative leave. A relative of Miller’s says he had recently been diagnosed with borderline schizophrenia and sometimes failed to take his medication. Miller was the father of two children. 

A suspected murder weapon has been found along a central Iowa roadway. On Sunday morning, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department re-searched the area on Highway 14, north of Marshalltown and discovered a weapon they believed to have been used in the shooting deaths of Jessica Deemer and Bryce Mercer on October 17th.

They had requested assistance in locating the weapon since the shooting incident. Marshall County Sheriff Ted Kamatchus says the re-mowing of the shoulder along the highway helped in finding the weapon. The weapon has been sent to the Iowa DCI crime lab for evaluation.

No information as to the type of weapon has been released. Twenty-seven-year-old Kyle Deemer has been held in the Marshall County Jail since his arrest. He is charged with two counts of murder. He faces a December court appearance in District Court.