Authorities in western Iowa are on the lookout for a man who escaped from a Council Bluffs work release facility. According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, 30-year-old Jonathon Mandel Clausell was placed on “escaped” status following an unexcused absence from the facility. Clausell was transferred to work release October 13th.

Jonathon Clausell

Clausell was serving 20 years for 2nd degree robbery in Union County, and 1st degree theft and assault while participating in a felony, in Montgomery County. He’s described as being African American, 5-feet 10-inches tall, and weighing 189 pounds. Clausell has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the prisoner’s whereabouts should contact Council Bluffs police or the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating an assault that took place late Thursday night. Officers called to the 1500 block of 2nd Avenue at around 10-p.m., to check on the welfare of a person, found Justin Wirsing sitting on the curb suffering from a laceration to the right side of his head. Wirsing told police he was assaulted by three unknown men, who left the scene in a white car before officers arrived. Wirsing was transported to Mercy Hospital for treatment of his injuries, and released.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – A man who police say called for “vigilante justice” after a brawl and shooting in southwest Iowa no longer faces charges. The Omaha World-Herald reports that prosecutors say the two weapons charges against 20-year-old Liam Whitehouse were dropped because evidence found in his vehicle likely wouldn’t hold up in court. Authorities say Whitehouse made a suspicious Facebook post calling for “vigilante justice” after the Sept. 27 incident outside the home of a Glenwood school principal, Richard Hutchinson.

Mills County Attorney Tricia McSorley says the car search was done without Whitehouse’s permission. Glenwood Police Chief Eric Johansen says Whitehouse initially denied officers permission to search the car but later granted it.

Police in Creston say a local woman was arrested on a drug charge Thursday evening. 31-year old Maxine Burton, of Creston, was taken into custody for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Burton was being held in the Rinngold County Jail on a $300 bond.

Authorities said also, two thefts were reported, Thursday. A resident in the 600 block of N. Oak Street, in Creston, told police someone took and began using her credit card to make purchases and withdrawals, beginning June 26th, until the card was cancelled sometime in July. The loss was estimated at $2,000.

And a woman in the 600 block of New York Avenue, in Creston, reported to police that her late model Buick Park Avenue, was stolen out of her driveway at around 10:40-p.m., Thursday. The woman’s phone and several personal items were inside the vehicle.  Police located the car at around 11:35-p.m., and returned the vehicle to its owner.

Police in Council Bluffs say one person was injured after a vehicle rolled over early this (Friday) morning off of Interstate 480. The accident happened at around 2:40-a.m. on I-480 westbound. An investigation determined a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am driven by 32-year old Sophia Jenkins, of Council Bluffs, was traveling west on the north side of the interstate, when her vehicle traveled down an embankment, crashed through a fence, and ended up in a construction area.

Jenkins was transported to Creighton University Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. Authorities say alcohol and speed appear to be contributing factors to the crash. Jenkins faces charges that include Failure to Maintain Control, Driving While Disqualified, and Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors say a Nebraska man who didn’t get the promotion he wanted at an Iowa college has been convicted of hacking without authorization into several of the university’s computers and email accounts. David Boyer pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to unauthorized access to a protected computer. In a plea agreement, the 46-year-old Boyer admitted that from October 2009 through June 4, 2010, he accessed protected computers at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.

Prosecutors say Boyer took the unauthorized actions because he was angry that he hadn’t been promoted to become head of the information technology department, losing the job to another person.  In the plea agreement, Boyer agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution. His sentencing date has not been set.