February 9, 2012

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Secret Service agent fined $1,250 for Iowa OWI

February 7, 2012 By

The Secret Service agent charged with drunk driving in Decorah just before President Obama’s visit to northeast Iowa this past August has been ordered to pay a hefty fine.

Forty-year-old Daniel Valencia last week entered an Alford plea in Winneshiek County District Court, which means he didn’t admit guilt, but concedes evidence exists for a probable conviction. He was sentenced to two days in jail and then given credit for time served.

Valencia can fulfill the sentence by completing an OWI weekend program in Iowa. It includes an offenders drinking-and-driving course offered by the Iowa D.O.T.  He must also pay a fine of $1,250 and a surcharge of $437. 

Valencia was arrested by Decorah police at about 1:30 on a Saturday morning, after he ran a red light. He was off duty at the time. President Obama arrived in Decorah the following Monday.

(Reporting by Darin Swenson, KDEC, Decorah)

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Marshalltown police investigate shooting

February 7, 2012 By

No arrests have been made after a shooting in central Iowa. Marshalltown police and the D.C.I. are looking into the downtown shooting around 7 o’clock last night.

The 41-year-old man had been shot in the head. He was rushed to a local hospital, then was transferred to an Iowa City hospital. He’s in critical condition. No name was released.

By Lance Renaud, KFJB, Marshalltown

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News

Fayette County man charged in theft of anhydrous

February 6, 2012 By

Kyle Boleyn

A man has been arrested in connection with an anhydrous ammonia incident in northeast Iowa that sent a sheriff’s deputy to the hospital last week.

 Fayette County Sheriff Marty Fisher says the female deputy was overcome by vapors coming from a broken tank at the Fredricksburg Farmers Co-op near Hawkeye.

She was attempting to arrest a man suspected of tampering with the tank. Thirty-six-year-old Kyle Boleyn of Arlington was arrested in the case on Sunday.

“He has been charged with criminal mischief in the second degree,” Fisher said. Boleyn is also charged with possession of anhydrous ammonia with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Fisher said Boleyn was identified as the suspect by both a witness and from evidence gathered at the scene.

“My deputy did see (Boleyn) and a motorist who was passing by at the time got a good look at the suspect,” Fisher said. The deputy, who has not been identified, was treated at a local hospital for exposure to the liquefied gas. She has since returned to duty.

Fisher said the investigation also revealed Boleyn, a registered sex offender, was not at his place of registry for over two weeks – so he’s facing another felony charge. If convicted of all charges, Boleyn could face up to 15 years in prison.

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State appeals Polk County ruling on same-sex birth certificate

February 6, 2012 By

The state is appealing a Polk County District Court ruling that ordered state health officials to issue a birth certificate that lists two women who are partners in a same-sex marriage as the parents of a two-year-old girl. The women conceived the baby using  an anonymous sperm donor.

State Health Department director, Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, explains their decision to appeal. “The appeal is because we feel (the ruling) doesn’t address the birth of children to other married couples, or couples who conceive in alternate ways. And then further, there were concerns about the paternity language currently in the code and if that needs to be addressed by the Supreme Court or through the legislative process,” Miller-Meeks says.

The Supreme Court overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in 2009, and the Polk County ruling said the state should have interpreted that ruling as allowing the two women to be listed as parents on the child’s birth certificate. The Polk County ruling did not say that same-sex parents have a constitutional right to be listed as parents on birth certificates.

Miller-Meeks says the language of the law has not changed, and they want clarification from the Supreme Court on how to handle the paternity in these cases. “Paternity is established as the father or if it’s a married couple, as the male in a couple, that determines paternity,” Miller-Meeks says.

“In other situations where there is a same-sex couple, then paternity is easily overturned, and so the issue then becomes who has responsibility for the child. So addressing those issues which have not been addressed would be beneficial.”

Melissa Gartner and Heather Gartner of Des Moines brought the lawsuit against the state in this case.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Health & Medicine, News Tagged With:

Sioux City to vote on lowering fine for red light camera tickets

February 6, 2012 By

Sioux City leaders plan to vote today  to lower the fine charged for a red light camera ticket. Sioux City Mayor  Bob Scott, says he expects a unanimous vote on the change.

Scott says the fee would be reduced to $100 if the person agrees that they ran the red light. He says if you want to contest the ticket, there would be an additional $95 added on.

The ticket currently costs $195 for everyone. Assistant city attorney, Justin Vondrak, says there is another change to the way a citation can be contested. “That will basically allow for a nominated party to contest the citation in court, currently only the registered owner of the vehicle can contest the citation,” Vondrak said.

Mayor Scott and two council members each said in their campaigns last fall that they thought the fines were too high. They represent the minimum votes needed to pass the new ordinance.

The traffic and speed cameras have been controversial, and have prompted a bill that is making its way through the Iowa House that would ban them.

By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News, Politics & Government

UNI professor studies hazing

February 6, 2012 By

An instructor at the University of Northern Iowa is hoping the publicity surrounding several recent hazing incidents in Iowa schools serves as a “wake up call” to coaches, athletes and others about the problem. Jennifer Waldron, and associate professor of health, physical education and leisure services, has conducted several studies on hazing or bullying in sports.

Waldron says many athletes she interviewed perceived hazing as just harmless fun, when in reality, the conduct could be illegal. “There’s also huge a social acceptance and social pressure…so many athletes talk about, ‘it’s not something I wanted to do, but I wanted to be seen as a real teammate or I wanted to be accepted by my teammates, so I went through it even though I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with or it made me stressed out,’ or there are other ramifications of it,” Waldron said.

Waldron said some athletes she questioned noted their coaches even played a role hazing, while others enforced a strict, no tolerance policy toward such activity. “Most of the athletes said their coach knew that hazing was going on, but as long as no one got hurt and there were no ill consequences the coach heard about, then it would be okay,” Waldron said.

Hazing or bullying cases involving high school wrestling team have surfaced in Iowa this season. In at least three cases, criminal charges have been filed. “I’m hoping that, we in the state, use this as a teachable moment and try to be proactive before more cases break,” Waldron said.

Waldron has given lectures at anti-hazing workshops and is currently collecting data on better prediction methods in initiation rituals among sports teams.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Human Interest, News Tagged With:

Iowa City woman charged with not reporting alleged child abuse

February 3, 2012 By

The woman who runs the Broadway Neighborhood Center in Iowa City is facing charges for not reporting an allegation of child abuse. Iowa City Police Sergeant Denise Brotherton says it may be the first time in state history that a person known as a mandatory reporter was arrested for not reporting a possible crime.

“Protect the kids, that’s what it should be about,” Sergeant Brotherton says. “The parents trust that we are all doing that. When someone fails to do that, it just loses trust in the whole system.”

Police say 44-year-old Susan Freeman, of Iowa City, is accused of not reporting allegations a teacher in her center’s program sexually assaulted a girl under 12. The Iowa City police and the Iowa Department of Human Services are conducting a joint investigation into the sexual abuse allegations, according to Brotherton.

“We have to protect the children, that is the goal of this ultimately, to protect the children,” she says. “That’s what everyone’s ultimate goal should be in any of our positions.” The child’s mother reported the incident on December 12th to Iowa City police, which then reported the allegations to the D.H.S.

Freeman was arrested Wednesday night for suspicion of failing to report child abuse, a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $300.

By Mark Carlson, KCRG, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News
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