Alleged prison gang leader Martin Dalke

Four inmates at a prison facility in southwest Iowa have been charged with second-degree murder for the death of another inmate on June 14. Martin Dahlke, 29, Richard Martin Jr., 34, Jeremy McIntosh, 27, and Rolland Jacobsen, 31, are accused of killing Alfred Myre, 44, in the yard outside the Clarinda Correctional Facility.

Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesperson Jessica Lown isn’t sure why Myre was targeted, but DCI agents are calling the incident “gang-related.” Lown says it’s believed one of the gang leaders, Dahlke, ordered the other three men to assault Myre in the prison yard. The men are alleged to be members of an organized prison gang called “The Peckerwoods.”

According to an affidavit filed by the DCI, Martin, McIntosh and Jacobsen punched Myre in the back and sides several times for about 30 seconds. “The punches were so severe that it caused internal injuries and a ruptured spleen which were fatal,” Lown said.

After the assault, Dahlke was seen escorting Myre to a picnic table. Guards responded to Myre’s aid when they saw him fall backwards and unconscious to the ground. Lown did not provide many other details. “What we can say is the Division of Criminal Investigation…when they learned there was likely an assault that resulted in a murder, they did go into the correctional facility to talk to inmates and guards to find out what they could about this incident,” Lown said.

A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Corrections, Fred Scaletta, told Radio Iowa the assault took place when a guard patrolling the grounds was at the opposite end of the area of the yard where Myre was attacked.

Myre was serving a 50-year-sentence for a 1991 second-degree murder conviction in Pottawattamie County. He was moved to the Clarinda facility in May, about one month before his death. The four men charged in the case remain at the Clarinda prison. All four entered prison within the last two years and were serving sentences ranging from 5 to 10 years for burglary, drug and theft convictions.

Tom Seago

A registered sex offender from northeast Iowa was arrested Tuesday when a sheriff’s deputy saw him operating carnival games and rides at the Fayette County Fair. Sheriff Marty Fisher says Tom Seago, 49, of Eldorado is now in the Fayette County Jail. “One of my deputies was patrolling the fairgrounds, knew (Seago) from prior violations and went ahead and arrested him for violation of the sex offender registry act,” Fisher said.

Working at a county fair with children present is a violation of the sex offender registry law. Seago was wearing a uniform provided by the carnival company. Sheriff Fisher says it doesn’t appear Seago had worked with the carnival in any other towns.

Fisher says the investigation indicates Seago was hired the day before the start of the Fayette County Fair. Fisher says his deputies continue to investigate Seago’s employer, but have not yet filed any charges against the carnival company.