A Clayton County, Georgia woman was sentenced to a year of probation for lying about the gun she purchased for her boyfriend, a convicted felon who used the Glock to kill Nebraska police officer and Walnut, IA., native, Kerrie Orozco. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing U-S Attorney John Horn’s office, reports 26-year old Jalita Jenera Johnson, must also complete 40 hours of community service and serve 180 days of home confinement. Johnson pleaded guilty in August.

In April, Johnson bought a Glock semiautomatic firearm, a 50-round drum magazine and ammunition from a pawnshop near her Jonesboro, GA., home, according to investigators. Johnson claimed she was buying the gun for herself, but she later admitted purchasing it for her boyfriend, Marcus Wheeler. As a convicted felon, Wheeler could not purchase the gun himself.

In May, Wheeler got into an armed confrontation with City of Omaha police in Nebraska, and he used the Glock to shoot and kill Officer Orozoco. Wheeler also was killed during the shootout.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 3-year-old boy has died in a fire at a Sioux City home. The Sioux City Journal reports that Nicholas Torres died of smoke inhalation Friday night. Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph said at a news conference Monday that Torres’ parents were outside on a back porch at their home when the fire broke out.

Firefighters arrived and found the structure engulfed in flames, but they could not immediately enter the home due to the intensity and size of the fire. Officials say the child was found in the living room, where they believe the fire started. Aesoph said both parents sustained burns in their unsuccessful attempt to save their son.

According to authorities, the home did not have any working smoke alarms. An investigation is ongoing.

State tax revenues continue to lag. The state collected nearly three percent less in overall taxes in October compared to the same month a year ago. Jeff Robinson, an analyst for the Legislative Services Agency, says “General fund revenues were a little bit disappointing in October and that’s kind of been a trend lately.” Individual income tax payments to the state were up five percent last month, but corporate income tax refunds were pretty large. “That provided quite a drag on revenue,” Robinson says.

Sales and use taxes account for a big chunk of tax collections, but sales and use tax payments to the state were down one-point-three percent in October. “Sales and use tax has been weak for a number of months now,” Robinson says. “…That is a disappointment, particularly given the price of gasoline.” According to the Triple-A, gasoline prices in Iowa are about 70 cents per gallon cheaper today (Tuesday) than they were a year ago.

Robinson says Iowans don’t appear to be spending the money they may be saving on energy costs, however. Experts had predicted overall state tax revenue would be growing at a four percent clip, but there’s been just a slim, tenth-of-a-percent increase since July 1st. “The trend for the first four months of this cash fiscal year has not been positive other than personal income tax and, unfortunately, what we’re finding so far is that personal income tax can’t hold the revenue stream together if all the rest of them are declining,” Robinson says, “so hopefully what comes in the future months is that what is happening in personal income tax are just transient things that disappear.”

A three-member panel of financial experts will meet in December to review the data and set an official estimate of state tax collections. That estimate must be used by the governor and lawmakers as they draft next year’s state budget.

(Radio Iowa)

(Update to our earlier story) A report from the State Auditor details the misuse of thousands of dollars of city money which led to the firing of the Defiance city clerk. Auditor Mary Mosiman says the city’s bank raised concern’s about a cash withdrawal attempt by former city clerk Kristen Wagner, and that then led to the discovery of other issues. Mosiman says the city has a daily withdrawal limit of 250 dollars, and attempt was made to withdraw 300 dollars was made in April. “So, the bank notified the mayor.

The mayor requested banks statements and that’s when he noticed electronic payments, none of them which should have been able to take place,” Mosiman says. The 37-seven-year-old Wagner was called into the sheriff’s office on April 27th and after an interview was charged with second-degree theft. The city later fired her. Mosiman says her office was called in to try and track down the money taken by Wagner.

“Our investigation identified 10-thousand-821 dollars of improper disbursements, and 10 dollars, 27 cents of unsupported disbursements,” according to Mosiman. “The improper disbursements were a little over six-thousand dollars to MidAmerican Energy and Verizon Wireless, as well as other vendors,” Mosiman says. She says the cellphone payments were a second indication that something wasn’t right.

“The city does not provide cellphones to its employees — so that was one of the big red flags when city officials became aware of these electronic payments,” Mosiman says. Mosiman says Wagner paid her own utility bills with city funds and also paid for the cellphone of someone in her household. The audit also found 16-hundred dollars in cash withdrawals from the city account, 12-hundred dollars in improper payroll, and 17-hundred dollars in late fees, penalties and interest. Wagner was a part-time city clerk who handled the finances of the small town without much oversight. Mosiman says that’s one of the changes they recommended.

“The governing body needs to provide oversight, needs to be looking at the bank statements, needs to be looking at the documentation for the disbursements,” Mosiman says. “I am certain it will take place from this point forward in this particular city, but it is something that every government entity needs to provide on a regular basis.” Wagner has pleaded not guilty to the theft charge and is scheduled to go on trial January 12th.

(Radio Iowa)

DEFIANCE, Iowa (AP) – The state auditor’s office says it’s identified nearly $11,000 in improper spending by a city clerk in Shelby County, who’s now charged with theft. The report released Tuesday by the office of State Auditor Mary Mosiman said Kristin Wagner used money from the town of Defiance‘s bank account to buy personal items and pay some bills. The report says the disbursements were made from March 12, 2013, through April 30, 2015.

Online court records say Kristin Wagner was charged on April 27 with theft and has pleaded not guilty. Her Shelby County trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 12th.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says a Council Bluffs woman was arrested Monday afternoon on Public Intoxication and Child Endangerment, charges. 44-year old Laurie Michelle Gustin was taken into custody on Main Street in Malvern at around 4:40-p.m. She was being held in the Mills County Jail on $2,300 bond.

A deer running out of the median is to blame for a Pottawattamie County man losing control and crashing his motorcycle, Sunday night, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office says David Wall, of Council Bluffs, was driving a 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle westbound on Highway 34 at around 7:50-p.m., when the deer appeared on the road. Wall was unable to avoid the animal, and struck the deer head-on. Wall then fell off his cycle and slid on the roadway.

He was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center by LifeNet helicopter.

Officials with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Nebraska, South Dakota, The Kansas Plains and Southwest Iowa, reminds consumers to be aware of companies claiming they can sell your timeshare if you pay them upfront. A timeshare owner from Montana reported to BBB that she signed on with a company in March, 2015 to sell her timeshare, but it didn’t happen.

The owner said she received a phone call from Premier Business Brokers, claiming to be located in Eden Prairie, MN asking if she would like to sell her timeshare in Mexico. She was told that her resale income from the timeshare property would be $29,854. She agreed to the sale and began working with a company called Executive Title Services allegedly in Omaha, Nebraska. It was supposed to handle the escrow after she wired 10%, $2,985.40, to transfer the property for resale. Besides paying in advance for the transfer fee, she has wired a total of $25,575.68 supposedly for: the commission to the man who was conducting the transaction, taxes to release the timeshare, additional taxes due to excess of income compared to Mexicans’ income, closing and administration fees and a fee to finalize the deal.

The victim took out loans to carry out these requests. Throughout her dealings with Executive Title Services, the seller was repeatedly informed that the buyer of the timeshare would be reimbursing her for all fees she paid. To date, she has received nothing and has to pay back the money that was borrowed. Several weeks ago, the seller received a letter stating that she still owed $12,000 for “using a Mexican timeshare contract.” She did not pay this fee and notified BBB after Executive Title Services began threatening her that it will get her Social Security number, take money out of her bank accounts and place liens on her property. Unfortunately, she did provide Executive Title Services with her credit union account number and has been working with the credit union to keep them informed of her dealings with this perpetrator. Her accounts have had alerts placed on them.

While there may be legitimate entities in the US using these or similar names, BBB believes that both business names involved in this scheme are fraudulent online entities. Over the last several years, many companies claiming to be located in the Midwest and purporting to offer timeshare reselling services have proved to be fraudulent foreign entities. In many cases, they have hijacked the names of legitimate US firms in an effort to lend legitimacy to this scam.

“If you own a vacation timeshare – the use of a vacation home for a limited, pre-planned time – be cautious of bogus resale companies who take advantage of anxious sellers in an overcrowded market,” stated BBB President and CEO Jim Hegarty. He advises, “Never wire money to companies or individuals you don’t know personally. The act of requesting a wire transfer as the method of payment is a tell-tale sign of a scam. In addition, if you are contacted by phone regarding your timeshare, get all information in writing. Don’t agree to anything until you have had the chance to thoroughly check the company out with BBB at bbbinc.org or call us toll-free at 800-649-6814.”

BBB offers these tips to those seeking to sell their timeshares:

Be realistic. In regard to timeshares, it’s generally a buyer’s – not a seller’s – market. Unscrupulous timeshare resellers may contact you claiming that your property is in demand and they can sell it immediately; unfortunately, these promises often prove to be false.
Be Wary of Upfront Fees. Remember, unless it’s negotiated into the purchase agreement, only buyers pay closing costs. Consider opting for a company that offers to sell for a fee only after the timeshare is sold. Many complaints to BBB regarding timeshare resellers involve situations where people were told they needed to wire “advance appraisal fees,” escrow funds or that they just had to pay closing costs and their timeshare would be sold. Never wire money to people you don’t know.
Use a Business You can Trust. Make sure the timeshare reseller you use is a BBB Accredited Business or at the very least has a good rating with BBB. You can research businesses for free at bbb.org.
Confirm Licensing Requirements. Some timeshare resellers will use fake addresses or PO boxes in order to mislead timeshare owners. Confirm where the company is located and in what states it does business. Ask if the company’s salespeople are licensed to sell real estate where your timeshare is located. If so, verify this with the state licensing board.
Get the Facts on the Figures. Find out if the business charges a commission. Do they handle the entire closing and provide escrow services? Do they charge an up-front listing or advertising fee? What does it cover and is it refundable?
Don’t Fall for the Hard Sell or an Offer that Sounds Too Good to Be True. Don’t agree to anything over the phone but instead ask the salesperson to send you written materials; take the time to think it over and don’t be pressured. You may want to have an attorney review any purchase agreement.
Watch out for third-party companies. Fraudulent timeshare reselling entities often associate with alleged third-party title or escrow services. Be sure to research those companies as well. If you can’t find any information, it may be a sign that there is a problem.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Monday, announced loans and grants for 141 projects to build and improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural communities across the nation.

Eight of the projects totaling more than $4.7 million in USDA funding are serving rural Iowans. Among the recipients is the Southwest Regional Water District, which receives a $147,000 Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant. USDA officials say the grant will fund installation of 650 feet of water pipe across the Nodaway River near Clarinda.

Funding of each award announced Monday is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of the grant and loan agreements.