DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The director of the Iowa Department of Corrections is retiring after a 36-year career with the agency. Jerry Bartruff said Monday that his last day with the department will be Dec. 27. He served more than three years as director following his appointment by then-Gov. Terry Branstad.

Gov. Kim Reynolds thanked Bartruff for his leadership, saying he has helped “redefine the agency” as one that focuses on incarceration but also evidence-based rehabilitation. She noted that the department’s registered apprenticeship program expanded during his tenure.

Bartruff started as a correctional officer in 1982, and later served in a variety of leadership roles. He says he hopes “that I’ve been able to leave the department on a positive path for the future.” There’s no word yet on who might replace him.

A man wanted by Homeland Security for being an illegal alien was arrested last Friday morning in Adair County. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says an Iowa State Patrol Trooper pulled over an SUV for speeding 85 in a 70 mph zone on I-80 eastbound, near mile marker 76. 31-year old Dan Miclescu, of Des Moines, was subsequently arrested for Speeding, No Valid Driver’s License, and No Insurance. The traffic charges were summarily dismissed, and he was turned over to officials with the Dept. of Homeland Security.

On Dec. 5th, 29-year old Natasha Lee Cain, of Marshalltown, arrived at the Adair County Sheriff’s Office to serve her time in jail, as ordered by the court. Cain was released last Saturday, after serving her required sentence.

And, 28-year old Colleen Nicole Denton, of Creston, was arrested Dec. 5th at the Adams County Jail, on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. She was released two days later on a $2,000 cash only bond.

Two Arizona men who were stopped by a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy late last year and found to be hauling heroin and fentanyl, were sentenced last week to 5-and 10-years in prison, respectively. 39 year-old Richard Ortiz received a sentence to 60 months of imprisonment, and 34 year-old Gerardo Alatorre Quintero was sentenced to 120 months. Both terms will be followed by  five years of supervised release.

Ortiz pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance on July 6, 2018. Alatorre Quintero pled guilty to the same charge on August 7, 2018.

On November 17, 2017, Ortiz and Alatorre Quintero were driving a U-Haul truck when they were stopped by a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s deputy for speeding. Ortiz gave the deputy permission to search the U-Haul, and the deputy located 25 packages hidden inside tires inside the U-Haul. The heroin weighed 6.97 kilograms, and the fentanyl weighed 15.62 kilograms.

The matter was investigated by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE). Their case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A man from Pottawattamie County was sentenced last week to serve slightly more than nine-years in prison for the receipt of child pornography. 36-year old Beau Croghan, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced Dec. 6th. He was also ordered to serve 10-years of supervised release following the completion of his prison term. A jury found the Croghan guilty of Receipt of Child Pornography on August 22, 2018, for his involvement in an undercover sting.

“Operation Pacifier” was an investigation conducted by the FBI into Playpen, a website on The Onion Router (TOR) hosted as hidden service. Playpen operated as a message-board type website where registered users would distribute and share images and videos of child pornography. Croghan registered with Playpen on September 27, 2014, and Croghan was actively logged into Playpen for over 13 hours between September 27, 2014, and March 4, 2015.

The matter was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reported Monday, that on December 6th, 39 year-old Brian Reed, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose to 105 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

On January 27, 2017, law enforcement officers were called to a residence in Council Bluffs, for a complaint about a man threatening people with a gun. A search of the residence revealed a loaded 9mm handgun in the kitchen.  Nine-millimeter ammunition was later recovered during the execution of a search warrant at the same residence on August 28, 2017. Reed was a convicted felon and drug user at the time he possessed the ammunition. Reed pled guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition on May 24, 2018.

The matter was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Council Bluffs, Iowa, Police Department, the Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced that on December 6th, 40 year-old Steven Horton, of Glenwood, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose to 84 months of imprisonment, to be followed by ten years of supervised release. Horton pled guilty to accessing child pornography on July 24, 2018.

“Operation Pacifier” was an investigation conducted by the FBI into Playpen, a website on The Onion Router (TOR) hosted as hidden service. Playpen operated as a message-board type of website where registered users would distribute and share images and videos of child pornography. Horton registered with Playpen on October 27, 2014, and Horton was actively logged into Playpen for more than 21 hours between the October 27, 2014, and February 28, 2015.

The matter was investigated by Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa lawmaker is challenging the accusations of a woman who filed an ethics complaint alleging he touched her inappropriately in 2015. Sen. Nate Boulton filed a response Monday to the Iowa Senate Committee on Ethics complaint, saying parts of the woman’s story “do not ring true.”

The woman, Des Moines attorney Sharon Wegner, filed a complaint Nov. 17 alleging Boulton repeatedly put his hand on her buttocks at a bar in November 2015. Boulton, who was elected in November 2016, argues ethics rules don’t apply because he hadn’t taken office. And he contends the alleged actions didn’t violate Senate sexual harassment rules because they’re not tied to behavior in the workplace.

He also provided a signed statement from a fellow lawyer indicating the woman portrayed herself as having a romantic interest in Boulton that he didn’t return. The accusations contributed to Boulton dropping his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor before the June primary. He has refused to resign from the Senate.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating a fatal hunting accident in south-central Iowa.
Marion County deputies and Iowa Natural Resources Department officials responded to a report of the shooting around 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Robert’s Creek Park on the north side of Lake Red Rock.
Officials say 23-year-old Blake E. Schroder, of Leighton, was fatally struck by a round apparently fired by a member of his hunting party.

An investigation is continuing, and an autopsy at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner is pending.

(Radio Iowa) — A statewide association that provides technical assistance to Iowa cities, counties and businesses is backing an idea that could address the state’s housing shortage and provide prisoners who’ll be paroled some marketable job skills. The Iowa Association of Councils of Governments is offering to create a non-profit called Homes for Iowa to operate the Rural Homes Initiative. Rick Hunsaker, executive director of Region Seven of the Iowa Council of Governments, says the initiative would be modeled after a successful program in a neighboring state.

“What they do in South Dakota, have been doing for 20 years, is having prisoners construct stick-built houses that are then transported anywhere in the state of South Dakota and it is for workforce housing, essentially low- and moderate-income housing,” he says, “new houses that can be placed anywhere.” Hunsaker and others who are urging legislators to try the same program here suggest it could be called the Rural Housing Initiative. They envision having prisoners at the Newton Correctional facility build homes that would then be shipped to areas in need of affordable housing.

Advocates for this initiative are asking legislators to commit about four-million state tax dollars to cover start-up costs. “It requires a new fence to be built. It requires the site work to be done and the platforms and pylons to be constructed and installed so that we can build houses on that. It requires us to have a large warehouse so that we’re able to bulk-buy supplies,” Hunsaker says. “…It requires the trucks which are specialized, that they have jacks that can lower them down, get underneath the houses and bring them out.”

Advocates on this program envision paying the prisoners for their work, most of which would be used to cover fines, restitution, court costs and room and board. According to Hunsaker, it will also cut back on crime. Inmates involved in South Dakota’s home construction program have a 35 percent lower rate of committing another crime compared to the general prison population.

Hunsaker is among those hoping to build a coalition of groups to lobby legislators to authorize this program. The idea won initial committee approval in the state senate this past year, but did not wind up in the legislature’s final budget plan.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has again denied Gov. Kim Reynolds’ request for disaster assistance to flood victims in four Iowa counties. Reynolds announced Monday that FEMA had denied her appeal of the agency’s earlier denial of help to victims in Buchanan, Dickinson, Polk and Winnebago counties. The request followed severe storms and flooding from June 6 to July 2. FEMA notified the governor in August that the impact wasn’t severe enough to merit individual assistance.

President Donald Trump declared the four counties presidential disaster areas, making them available for other assistance. Reynolds also issued a disaster proclamation for the counties and has worked to provide more than $2.8 million in aid. Last week, FEMA denied individual disaster aid to victims of July tornadoes that hit Marshall and Polk counties.