Man and woman arrested in Winterset in connection with Des Moines shooting deaths
May 18th, 2012 by Ric Hanson
(updated 11:54-a.m.)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police say a disgruntled former worker at a Des Moines trucking company shot and killed two current employees. Police have identified the victims of the Thursday night shooting in south Des Moines as 30-year-old Serif Hidic and 49-year-old Robert Smoot. Both were found dead after police responded to a 911 emergency call at an address used by Seibert Trucking. Police arrested 39-year-old Ronald J. Hawkinson in Winterset Thursday night and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder. Also arrested is Hawkinson’s girlfriend, 41-year-old Rhonda Plew. Police aren’t saying exactly how she’s involved but that investigators believe she aided Hawkinson. She’s charged with accessory after the fact. She is in the Madison County Jail. Hawkinson is in the Polk County jail.