(Council Bluffs) — Three students at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs were arrested Thursday afternoon on various charges following an altercation over an allegedly stolen pot pipe. Council Bluffs Police responded at around 2:30-p.m. to the college, for a report of a subject that was reportedly armed with a gun. Prior to any officers arriving on scene, IWCC campus security personnel had been able to stop and detain a male student, who had been pointed out as having displayed a handgun at other students during an altercation.
A further investigation revealed that three male students had been gathered in the dorm room of 19-year old Ethan Grask, of Clive, smoking illegal drugs together, when 18-year old Anthony E. Sanders, of Omaha, went to leave the room while allegedly attempting to steal a piece of drug paraphernalia from Grask.
Anthony E. Sanders
Raekwon Gray
Ethan J. Grask
A fight between Grask and Sanders ensued, with Sanders eventually displaying and threatening 18-year old Conner Holdsworth, of Carroll, with what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, in order to exit the residence hall.
While fleeing, Sanders was stopped by campus security in a parking lot near the dorm building. After searching the scene, officers located a plastic “Air-Soft” pellet gun in some bushes near the area where Sanders was taken into custody. The pellet gun looked similar to an actual handgun, as the orange colored safety tip had been removed.
Grask suffered minor injuries during his altercation with Sanders, but did not require any medical attention. No other students were injured. The campus was not placed on “lockdown”, as Sanders was located and detained by campus security staff almost immediately after the incident took place.
Sanders, Grask and 18-year old Raekwon Gray, of Fredrick, MO., were booked into Pottawattamie County Corrections. Sanders and Gray both were charged with Robbery in the 1st Degree. Sanders faces an additional charge of Aggravated Assault. Grask was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
While being booked into corrections Gray was also found to be in possession of a controlled substance that is suspected to have come from Grask’s room. All three men face a charge of Gathering where controlled substances are unlawfully used. And, while the investigation continues, authorities say they do not anticipate any additional charges at this time.
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