Authorities in southwest Iowa say an eastern Nebraska man was arrested Tuesday on numerous charges following a manhunt. Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Dwayne Riche says 28-year old Louis Enrique Cruz-Guzman, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was taken into custody after being flushed out of an embankment near a creek by a K-9 unit near Council Bluffs.
Sergeant Riche says the incident began when authorities received word a man matching Cruz-Guzman’s description was on private property. Sergeant Riche says a property owner in the area, Brian Driver, saw Cruz-Guzman walking on his property carrying a claw hammer which Driver believed came from a shed or outbuilding on his property.
When Driver confronted the man, Cruz-Guzman took off on foot through a corn field headed toward a wooded creek line. Moments later, Phil Cock, who was on an ATV, saw the suspect running toward the creek. Sgt. Riche says a deputy who responded to the scene hopped on the ATV with Cock and together the men began a search for Cruz-Guzman.
At that same time, authorities received another report the same man allegedly stole a bicycle from a female resident’s backyard and was trying to get away. The suspect abandoned the bike and once again, took off on foot. Numerous agencies responded to conduct a search. Area schools were notified about the incident and placed on lock-down, as a security measure. As the K-9 “Francisco” and his handler,
Deputy Brian Miller, began walking the creek line, the suspect heard the team approaching and surrendered to the State Patrol.
He says Cruz-Guzman was freezing from the water. When he surrendered, he was wearing only his boxer shorts, as his shoes, pants and shirt were frozen and discarded in the creek.
Cruz-Guzman was arrested on a warrant out of Boone County, Iowa, for probation revocation and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. He was also charged in Pottawattamie County with burglary, trespassing, interference with official acts and theft. He was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on $10,000 bond.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic