OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of killing a college basketball player in Oskaloosa says he was defending himself. Twenty-three-year-old Luke VanHemert is charged with second-degree murder, accused of stabbing to death 22-year-old Marquis Todd earlier this month. Todd played for William Penn University.

The Des Moines Register reports that VanHemert says in court documents that the stabbing of Todd “was an act of self-defense” but doesn’t provide more details.
Authorities think a car carrying Todd and two friends returned to the scene of a car crash outside VanHemert’s Oskaloosa house three times on the night of March 1, and that a fight broke out on the third trip back.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man at around 7:25-p.m. Thursday, for Public Intoxication and Urinating in Public. 56-year old Tony Joe Christensen, of Red Oak, was taken into custody in the 1300 block of N. Broadway, in Red Oak, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among kids between the ages of 10 and 14. It’s the second-leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 34. Representative Tom Moore of Griswold, a retired teacher, says “We have got to do a better job of recognizing when we have children or adults…in crisis.”

A bill that cleared the legislature this week directs Iowa schools to adopt suicide prevention strategies. Teachers and other school staff are to undergo at least one hour of training every year so they may better recognize “toxic stress” and other signs of depression that may lead to suicide. “The only people who see our kids as much or more than we do as parents are our teachers,” Moore says. “This bill provides our teachers with necessary training to recognize signs of suicide in their students.”

The bill emphasizes that educators should be trained to identify a traumatic event in a student’s life that may have a lasting, negative effect on the student’s well-being. Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo says helping teachers recognize toxic stress in their students is a great step forward. “This is showing that once we know better, we choose to do better.” Representative Moore says teachers aren’t being called upon to be counselors, just to be on the look-out for signs their students may need help from a health care professional.

“This one hour annual training is a great start to a better informed public and will lead to lives being saved,” Moore says. Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo says 433 people died of suicide in Iowa last year. “On average, one person dies by suicide every 20 hours in Iowa,” Brown-Powers said. “This bill will help our teachers. It will help our students and it will save lives in Iowa.” The bill won unanimous approval in both the House and Senate and the governor is expected to sign the bill into law.

(Radio Iowa)

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports a man from Union County was arrested by Adams County Deputies a little before midnight, Thursday, following a traffic stop on Highway 25, near 272nd Street. Vincent Brown, of Kent, was taken into custody at around 11:58-p.m., for OWI/1st offense, and transported to the Adams County Jail.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man charged as an accessory in the Council Bluffs slaying of a homeless man has been sentenced. Court records say Cleo McClellan pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 98 days already served and fined $625, but the fine was suspended. Police say he and Michael Thacker were involved in the Nov. 28 slaying of David Simpson, whose body was found Dec. 11. Thacker is scheduled to go on trial May 8.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — Trial has again been delayed for an Iowa man charged in the stabbing death of his 84-year-old grandfather. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge on Friday agreed to give the defense team of 20-year-old Santos Rodriguez Jr. more time for evaluations and investigation. Rodriguez’s new trial date is May 1. He has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and arson in the Oct. 29 death of Luis Luevanos in his Rock Valley home.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man accused of stabbing to death his grandparents in the Mason City home they shared will stand trial in October. Codie Matz has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the killings. Television station KIMT reports that a Cerro Gordo County District judge set the new trial date on Thursday. Last month, the 25-year-old Matz was found mentally competent to stand trial.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A day after announcing job cuts, magazine publisher Meredith Corp. says it plans a $21 million remodel of its corporate headquarters in Iowa. The Des Moines-based company says the project will accommodate 41 jobs it’s transferring from New York. The Thursday announcement comes as Meredith merges with Time Inc., which it bought it January. On Wednesday, Meredith laid off 200 workers and announced 1,000 jobs would be cut over the next 10 months. It also will cut 600 Florida jobs.

The Carroll County Attorney is not pressing charges and has closed an investigation of two employees in the Carroll County Sheriff’s office involved in weapons training classes. A special investigation by the state auditor in 2017 reported nearly 130-thousand dollars in undeposited fees for classes Carroll County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Tom Fransen taught in his off-duty hours. The fees were handled by an administrative assistant in the sheriff’s office.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman says the audit’s estimate of undeposited fees “may be off” because it was based on the number of concealed weapons permits granted by Carroll County’s Sheriff’s Office over a five-year period. “In other words, if they took a class in a different county, they would have paid that other county (the fee), but then they received the permit in Carroll County,” Mosiman said.

The audit didn’t take into account concealed weapons permits issued to active duty military, veterans, law enforcement employees or people who took an online course — none of whom would have paid a fee to the Carroll County deputy for a weapons training class. Carroll County Attorney John Werden issued a written statement this week about the case.

Werden said he conducted an extensive review with other prosecutors and concluded there was “insufficient evidence” that a crime had been committed, so the case was closed. The state auditor has given the county some recommendations for providing oversight to any fees that may be paid for services provided by county employees. “But we do not offer any sanctions or repercussions for this,” Mosiman says. “We simply are putting out what needs to be improved upon.”

On March 12th, the Carroll County Board of Supervisors approved new written policies for use of the courthouse and county-owned property for weapons training classes. The Carroll County Sheriff has new written policies on when and how employees in his agency may be involved in the classes. Regular audits of Carroll County operations did not raise red flags about fees for the weapons classes. A complaint from a political opponent of the sheriff prompted the state auditor’s investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) — Trial has again been delayed for an Iowa man charged in the stabbing death of his 84-year-old grandfather. The Sioux City Journal reports that a judge on Friday agreed to give the defense team of 20-year-old Santos Rodriguez Jr. more time for evaluations and investigation. Rodriguez’s new trial date is May 1.

Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and arson. He’s accused of stabbing Luis Luevanos in his Rock Valley home on Oct. 29 and setting the man’s house on fire. Firefighters found Luevanos’ body later that day.

Police say Rodriguez was later arrested in Utah. Iowa investigators say Rodriguez admitted during a police interview to stabbing his grandfather and setting the fire.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office is reporting three arrests and two accidents took place this week. On Monday, 39-year old Joseph Corey Jack, a homeless man, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Probation Violation. His bond was set at $5,000. Tuesday afternoon (as mentioned in a previous report), 52-year old Gregory Alan Neemann, of  Omaha, NE., was arrested following a traffic stop, for Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $7,300.

And, Wednesday afternoon, 33-year old Kristy Lynn Bender, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance and on five counts of Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug. Her bond was set at $7,000.

Three people were transported to Jenny Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs following a rollover accident at around 11:47-p.m. Tuesday. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says a 2006 Dodge driven by 22-year old Jacklin Cherry, of Omaha, was traveling north on Interstate 29, when Cherry attempted to take the 35-mile marker exit to westbound Highway 34. Authorities said she was driving too fast to maneuver through the curved exit ramp, and lost control of the vehicle.

The Dodge went off the road and rolled several times before coming to rest on its wheels. Jacklin Cherry and her passengers, 22-year old Del-Shonna Griffin, of Kansas City, MO., and 20-year old Isis Griffin, of Omaha, were all transported to the hospital. Glenwood and Pacific Junction Rescue assisted at the scene.

Separately, no injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday evening, in Mills County. Officials say a 2010 Ford driven by 18-year old Colton Book, of Glenwood, was traveling west on Kane Avenue at around 7:15-p.m. When he reached for his sunglasses to shade his eyes from the sun’s glare, the Ford crossed the center line of the road and collided with a 1999 Ford driven by Kenneth Nebitt, of Glenwood, as he was traveling east on Kane Avenue. Nebbit saw Book’s vehicle on the wrong side of the road and slowed down. He  also honked his horn to get Book’s attention, but he was unable to avoid the collision. Book was cited for Failure to Yield half of the roadway.

A traffic stop at a used truck and heavy equipment dealer in Mills County, resulted in the arrest Tuesday afternoon of a man on drug charges. The Mills County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday (today), that Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office K9 unit conducted the traffic stop at VanderHaags.

Upon investigation and searching the vehicle, marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were located on the passenger, 52-year old Gregory Neemaan. He was transported to the Mills County Jail and charged with Possession of Meth/3rd or subsequent offense, Possession of Marijuana/3rd or subsequent offense, and Possession of drug paraphernalia. Bond was set at $7,300.

Council Bluffs Police say two transient men were arrested on murder charges following an investigation into the discovered late Wednesday night, of  body found outside of a building at 1435 N. 15th Street. 46-year old Vance A. Good was charged with 1st Degree murder in the death of 44-year old Lee Johnson. 32-year old Brandon K. Hollis was charged with being an accessory to murder. Both men were being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Brandon Hollis

Vance Good

Authorities say at around 11:30-p.m., Wednesday, Council Bluffs Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to the Joshua House on North 15th Street, regarding an assault. The Joshua House is a 24‐hour men’s emergency homeless shelter. Johnson, Good and Hollis were all signed into the facility to spend the night.

Upon their arrival, officers located Lee Johnson’s deceased body laying outside the building. Johnson had multiple, deep lacerations to his face and neck. Joshua House staff directed officers to Vance Good and Brandon Hollis, who were both still inside the facility. Preliminary investigation revealed that Good and Johnson were in an altercation inside the Joshua House and it is alleged that Good used a sharp cutting instrument to fatally wound Johnson. Good and Hollis then proceeded to carry Johnson’s body out of the building, to dispose of it in the parking lot.

Neither Good or Hollis attempted any life saving measures nor did they contact anyone to provide emergency medical assistance for Johnson.