A western Iowa woman who had been charged with 1st degree murder in connection with the drowning of her son in a bathtub, has instead been found guilty of lesser charges. According to KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Ashley Cameron, of Onawa, was found guilty by a jury in Monona County District Court, of Involuntary Manslaughter and Child Endangerment. Sentencing is set for June 28th.

Investigators testified during her trial, that Cameron told them 15-month old Markis Dahms had vomited in the bathtub, and that she held his head under a running faucet to clean him. She repeated that process as he vomited four or five more times.  Cameron testified that she’d left him in the tub to get some items and found him face down in the water when she returned. Her attorney suggested that Markis may have had a seizure.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) released the details about an accident which occurred at around 5:15-p.m., on May 9th. The two-vehicle accident happened on 670^th Street, as a 1994 Chevy pickup driven by 41-year old Jesse Lee Simmons,  of Atlantic, was traveling north on 670^th Street.

Officials say when the pickup crossed the center of the road, it hit a southbound 2012 Chevy Malibu owned and driven by52-year old Carl Eugene Dolch, of Wiota. Dolch was transported by Medivac ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, and later transferred to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha.

Damage from the crash amounted to $17,000. The Sheriff’s Dept. says  Simmons was cited for Driving While Suspended and for Driving on Wrong Side of the Road.

A Cumberland woman was arrested Wednesday on drug charges. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says 43-year old Tammy Darleen Flathers, faces charges of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine, and OWI 1^st Offense. Flathers was taken to the Cass County Jail and released Thursday, on her own recognizance.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports an eastern Iowa man was arrested this week on a drug charge. 23-year old Malcom Marcus Taylor, of Waterloo, was arrested Wednesday night following a traffic stop on Highway 34. Taylor faces a Possession of Controlled Substance charge. His bond was set at $1,000. 20-year old DeCoby Christopher Kennedy, of Cedar Falls, was arrested during the same traffic stop, on a charge of Driving While Revoked and having no S-R 22 insurance.

And, on Thursday, 57-year old Kevin Dean Wolford, of Tabor, was arrested at around 2:20-a.m., on a charge of OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Iowa State Patrol’s District 3 office in Council Bluffs and Post 6 in Spencer are two of seven Posts in Iowa that will be receiving a total of 8 Humvees designed to serve as emergency response vehicles. The tan-colored Humvees will be added to the State Patrol’s fleet through the military’s 1033 Program, which allow a transfer of military equipment to law enforcement agencies, in order to enhance operations. The vehicles are provided at no cost to the agency. 

When a law enforcement agency no longer desires to retain the equipment, the property is returned to the military. Following the acquisition of the Humvees, the Iowa National Guard assisted the Department of Public Safety (DPS) by performing a maintenance inspection of each Humvee, making minimal repairs, and painting the vehicles. General fund dollars were not utilized to support the acquisition.  The police equipment used to designate the Humvees as emergency vehicles was previously designated as surplus equipment due to the requirements of our newer Dodge patrol vehicles.

Following the crippling blizzard of December 19 & 20, 2012, DPS Commissioner Brian London asked DPS staff to develop alternatives for members of the Division of Criminal Investigation, Division of Narcotics Enforcement and State Fire Marshal’s Office non-uniformed officers to support the State Patrol Division during disaster operations.  During the blizzard, the Department’s non-uniformed officers were unable to support State Troopers as they worked toward rescuing stranded motorists across Iowa.  The limitations included the viability and mobility of the non-uniformed officers’ vehicles.

The State Patrol Division will coordinate the readiness of the Humvees and station the vehicles across the state for rapid deployment during blizzards, flooding, tornadoes, and other disaster or critical incident related operations.  During these deployments, more than 80 sworn members across Department stand ready to operate the Humvees to augment the Department’s uniformed response. The State Patrol Division’s, Safety Education Unit will also use the Humvees occasionally to advance traffic and highway safety initiatives.

Currently, one Humvee is ready for deployment.  Throughout the summer additional Humvees will be painted and up-fitted for deployment across the state.  With the exception of Post 1 in Des Moines, the other six Iowa State Patrol Districts (Posts 3,6,8.9, 11 and 12). will receive one Humvee, each. Post 1 will get two of the former military vehicles.

The Humvee is available for viewing and photographs today (Friday, May 17th,) from 1-to 2-pm, at the Oran Pape Public Safety Building, 215 E 7th Street (Des Moines), and on  Saturday, from 8-am until Noon, in cooperation with the annual Police Week Bridge display.