A Judge in Pottawattamie County has ruled a man from Council Bluffs will serve four-months in prison and three-years of supervised release, in connection with the transporting of stolen truck repair equipment across state lines from Omaha to Council Bluffs.  40-year old Joseph Patrick Connor was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Court Judge John Jarvey, who also ordered Connor to pay restitution amounting to $30,000.

On March 18th, Connor pled guilty to the charge of interstate transportation of stolen property. The charge was the result of an investigation conducted by several law enforcement agencies into the theft of tools from Hatcher Mobile Services of Omaha, Nebraska, taken during a burglary committed on March 20th, 2012. Many of the tools taken during the burglary were recovered from the back of a straight truck found in Council Bluffs,  by the Iowa State Patrol. The value of the tools taken during the burglary was estimated to be over $100,000.

The investigation was conducted by the Omaha Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A former Fremont County resident was sentenced Tuesday (July 30th) to prison on tax fraud charges. 55 year-old Robert W. Duncan, formally a resident of Thurman, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge John Jarvey to four years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Duncan entered a guilty plea on March 12th, 2013, to defrauding the Social Security Administration, filing a false income tax return and making a false statement to a financial institution. Duncan, former owner and auctioneer for Bob Duncan and Associates, was also ordered to pay restitution to the Social Security Administration in the amount of $218,755.10, and to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $42,254.

During the plea proceeding, Duncan admitted that he had defrauded the Social Security Administration by receiving benefits he was not entitled to between 1993 and 2011. Duncan also admitted to the court that he had caused to be filed a false 1040 tax form for tax year 2008 by under reporting his income, and that he had provided false financial documents to Treynor State Bank to obtain a $225,000 loan in 2005.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigations, Social Security Administration-Office of the Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Police in Red Oak are investigating the theft of a garden tiller. Officials received a report this (Tuesday) afternoon from Jeremiah Binns, that someone stole his red, rear tine tiller with a 196-CC Viper Engine. The machine was taken from a garden located at the corner of North 8th Street and East Nuckols Street, in Red Oak.

Binns reported also, that a tarp covering the tiller was taken. He estimated the loss at approximately $600. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Red Oak Police Department at 712-623-6500.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday), released a report on the most recent arrests. On Monday (July 29th), deputies arrested 29-year old Nickalas Dean Orstad, of Griswold, on a charge of OWI 2^nd Offense (Aggravated). Orstad was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on his own recognizance.

On Saturday, July 27th, 41-year old Travis William Templeton, of Griswold, was arrested on a charge of Serious Assault. Templeton was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $1000 bond.

Arrested last Friday (July 26th) in Cass County, was 26-year old David Alan Campbell, Jr., of Oakland, and 45-year old Michael Lee Clason, of Marne. Campbell was arrested on a charge of OWI 1^st Offense. He taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on his own recognizance. Clason was arrested on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear for Child Support Hearing. He was being held in the Cass County Jail on $2000 cash bond.

On July 25th, Cass County deputies arrested 28-year old Tyanna Karee Lungren, of Atlantic, on a Cass County Sheriff’s Office warrant for Failure to Appear on a ticket for Driving While Suspended, and a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Lungren was taken to the Cass County Jail where she is being held on $10,750 bond.

On July 24th, the Sheriff’s Office charged 53-year old Dennis Wayne Toepfer, of Atlantic, with Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Meth) (C Felony). Toepfer is being held at the Cass County Jail on an Atlantic Police Department Charge for Theft 3^rd Degree. His total bond for both charges is $50,000.

On July 22nd, 22-year old Scott Nathaniel Belew, of Audubon, was arrested in Cass County on a warrant for Failure to Appear to Serve Time. Belew was held at the Cass County Jail until his owed time was served.  On July 19th, 54-year old Roger Allen Ericksen, of Lewis, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Violation of Probation. Ericksen was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $10,000 bond.

And, on July 17th, 24-year old Johnny Lee Kirchner, of Atlantic, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Kirchner was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $5000 bond.

Authorities in Iowa are asking for the public’s help in locating a man wanted on several arrest warrants.

Troy Laufenberg

Troy Alan Laufenberg of Monona,is wanted for Child Endangerment (Class D Felony), Possession with Intent to Deliver (Class D Felony), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Serious Misdemeanor), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Simple Misdemeanor).

The charges are a result of the collection and analysis of evidence seized during the execution of a search warrant on July 19, 2013 at the home of Troy Laufenberg and Emily Voshell.  The pair lived at 103½ E. Center Street in Monona, Iowa.   Officers were initially called to the residence on July 15 on report of an injured child.  That child remains hospitalized.

Laufenberg’s whereabouts however are unknown at this time. If you can assist officers in locating Laufenberg, please contact DCI Special Agent Mike Krapfl, 563-599-4239. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, and Monona Police Department are investigating.

A man from Glenwood suffered injuries to his arms, but was not transported to the hospital, following a motorcycle accident Monday morning, about 2 miles southwest of Glenwood. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says Cody Weddon was traveling east on Highway 34 at around 7:25-a.m., and was slowing to make a right turn into the Mile Hill Lake parking lot, when his 2013 Honda motorcycle hit some loose gravel and went out of control, ending up on its side.