The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is looking into the Des. 1st, 2015 death of a female inmate at the Page County Jail. Officials say on November 19th, 2015, 25-year old Jessica Lee, of Council Bluffs, was arrested and booked into the Page County Jail for Possession of controlled substance (PCS), Possession of Paraphernalia, Providing False Information and Interference with Official Acts.

Jessica Lee

On the evening of December 1st, 2015, jailers at the Page County Jail found Lee unresponsive in her cell. Emergency personnel were called and provided medical aid.  She was transported to University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. Lee died Dec. 2nd at the UNMC.  An autopsy was performed at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny on December 3rd, 2015. The cause and manner of death was acute methamphetamine toxicity.  No foul play is suspected in this case.

As to how Lee was able to possess and ultimately overdose while in custody, it was discovered that hours before Lee was found unresponsive, she had placed a recorded call to someone outside the jail stating she was dying.  Lee admitted to the person she called that she had smuggled meth into the jail inside a body cavity. Neither Lee nor the person she called contacted anyone at the Page County Jail to notify them of Lee’s statements or condition.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office, Page County Attorney’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner continue to investigate the case.

KJAN News wishes to clarify our original post about Saturday’s chase and shots fired incident. I want to make it clear, that Sheriff Jeff Vandewater DID NOT identify the Greenfield Police Chief as Austin O’Brien. That was my error. The Chief is Jesse Lund. That information was corrected in the follow-up story with additional details. I wish to apologize to Sheriff Vandewater for unintentionally making it appear as though he had identified the Chief as O’Brien, when in fact he simply mentioned “The Chief.”

Ric Hanson/KJAN News

Two legislative leaders say lawmakers can quickly make a decision on how much general state aid will be forwarded to Iowa’s public schools for the next academic year, but neither is suggesting exactly what the compromise number might be. By law, legislators should have made this school funding decision last year, and House Democratic Leader Mark Smith of Marshalltown says school administrators are struggling to make budget decisions.

“Unfortunately, we’ve put them in a horrible position. We have Davenport schools looking at breaking the law so they can go into reserves,” Smith says. “We have 76 percent of the school districts in Iowa raising property taxes which is a regressive tax and one that the legislature is forcing them to rely on.” Senate Republican Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock says the two parties are “close to the same page” on school funding.

“We should get this resolved as quick as possible,” Dix says. “I do not see any reason why it cannot and just make sure that we put a number in place that schools can count on and know that the dollars will be there.” Dix and Smith made their comments during a weekend appearance on Iowa Public Television. House Republicans have proposed a two percent boost in general state support of schools. Republican Governor Terry Branstad has proposed a two-point-45 percent increase. Democrats in the Iowa Senate have proposes a four percent increase.

(Radio Iowa)

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports a Guthrie County man was arrested during the early morning hours of Feb. 14th, for OWI/1st offense. 19-year old Zachary Jerome Schreck, of Guthrie Center, was taken into custody after he was pulled over for speeding near the intersection of Henry A. Wallace Road and Highway 92. During an interview with the deputy, the deputy noticed Schreck showed signs of intoxication. He was given, and failed a Field Sobriety Test. Shreck was booked into the Adair County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond.

Friday afternoon, 33-year old Heather Marie Fritz, of Omaha, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail on an Adair County warrant associated with OWI/1st offense. Fritz was being held without bond in the Adair County Jail, pending a court appearance.

And, 31-year old James Wyshaun Riddle, Jr., of Creston, was arrested on drug charges Friday evening, following a traffic stop on Interstate 80 eastbound. A deputy noticed the distinct smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle and received consent to conduct a search. He found a bag of pot under the passenger seat. Riddle admitted the weed was his and was placed under arrest for Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was released later that evening on $1,000 bond.

(In an update to our earlier post) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports one person was arrested on numerous charges following a chase and shots-fired incident Saturday night. 31 year old Cole John Daughenbaugh, of Greenfield, faces felony charges that include: Eluding; Possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with the intent to distribute; Failure to Affix drug tax stamp, and Interference with official acts involving a firearm. He also faces lesser charges of Possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to obey a stop sign. Daughenbaugh was released from custody Sunday morning after posting $5,000 bond.

Cole Daughenbaugh (booking photo Courtesy Adair County Sheriff’s Office)

His arrest followed an attempt at around 7:10-p.m. Saturday by Greenfield Police Chief Jesse Lund to stop a pickup truck for a traffic violation that nearly resulted in a collision, on the north side of Greenfield. After the Chief activated his emergency warning lights, the pickup sped-away and fled northbound out of Greenfield.

Chief Lund followed the pickup for a little less than two miles before it stopped near the residence located at 2257 220th Street, in Adair County. The driver, later identified as Daughenbaugh, and adult female passenger fled from the pickup. While speaking with a juvenile female who remained inside of the pickup, more than 10 shots were fired from a handgun some distance away.

The Chief backed away from the immediate scene and requested further assistance. Peace Officers from the Iowa State Patrol, Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Stuart Police Department, Adair County Sheriff’s Office and the Greenfield Police Department arrived to assist in the investigation and in the apprehension of the suspect.

Communication was established with the suspect and after a short length of time, Daughenbaugh walked out of the residence and was taken into custody. A search warrant was later executed at the home. Vandewater says more than a dozen firearms and more than two pounds of a substance believed to be marijuana were seized.

The case remains under investigation.