Des Moines, Iowa – Two men from Nebraska have entered guilty pleas in an Iowa Arson for Hire Scheme. 35-year old Peere M. Shackelford, of Omaha, NE, pled guilty in Pottawattamie County District Court on October 31st, to Conspiracy to Commit Insurance Fraud (a Class D Felony). As part of Shackelford’s plea agreement, the charges of Arson 2nd Degree and Conspiracy to Commit a Non-Forcible Felony were dismissed. Shackelford received a 5 year deferred prison sentence, a suspended $750 civil penalty, and was placed on probation for one year.

Pott. County Sheriff’s Office photos.

In January 2019, Shackelford’s co-conspirator, 36-year old William Odinas, of Omaha, NE, accepted a plea deal to a lesser charge of Arson 3rd Degree (Aggravated Misdemeanor) for his role in the scheme. Odinas was originally charged with Arson 2nd Degree (a Class C Felony) and Conspiracy to Commit a Non-Forcible Felony (A Class D Felony). Odinas was sentenced to 74 days of incarceration with full credit for time served. Odinas received a $625.00 fine.”

The guilty pleas by Shackelford and Odinas stem from a joint investigation completed by the Council Bluffs Fire Department and the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau beginning in October of 2018. The investigation determined that after Shackelford’s 2005 BMW became inoperable, Shackelford left the vehicle at a dealership in Council Bluffs. After allowing the vehicle to sit unrepaired for several months, Shackelford hired Odinas to set the car on fire, agreeing to pay him with insurance proceeds for committing the arson.

On the evening of the arson, Odinas was seen on surveillance video entering Shackelford’s vehicle and setting it on fire. Days later, Shackelford filed an insurance claim on the totaled vehicle. Shackelford’s insurance claim of $6,818.63 was eventually denied.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-242-5304.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court will take an appeal of an Iowa attorney who challenged a 2017 flight Gov. Kim Reynolds and her family took on a private jet to a football game in Memphis, Tennessee. Gary Dickey filed a complaint with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board in September 2018, alleging the $2,880 claimed for four seats on the jet in campaign documents underestimated the flight’s value. The board dismissed his complaint, saying the estimate was reasonable. Dickey appealed and a district court judge in December 2018 dismissed his challenge.

Dickey says in his appeal to the Supreme Court that Iowa campaign finance laws guarantee citizens accurate information and the court should establish a citizen’s right to challenge reports when they’re false. The board’s lawyer argued the board and district judge didn’t err in their decisions and an appeal should be denied. Chief Justice Mark Cady said in an order filed Wednesday that the court would take Dickey’s appeal but will base a decision on documents already filed so no further briefs or oral arguments will be accepted. Reynolds attended the Liberty Bowl to watch Iowa State play Memphis.

Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke has announced the Write-In winners of certain City elections held Tuesday. In offices were no one filed to run, Write-In candidates who received the most votes, up to the number of seats to be filled, were declared winners:

• In Elliott – Michael Christiansen was declared winner of the Mayor’s office, with 10 votes.
• Leta Rush received 7 votes and Todd Silk received 6, to win two seats on the Elliott City Council.
• Two candidates on the ballot for three seats on the Villisca City Council: Robert Narup and Marsha S. Shepherd, were declared winners, with 101 and 82 votes respectively. Write-in winner Lee Haidsaik received seven votes.
• And there were three seats open on the City Council in Coburg. The Write-In winners were: Lester Ballard (5 votes); Alexandria Schooling (4 votes), and Jody Schooling (5 votes).

The results are unofficial until they are canvassed 1-p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12th. Any absentee ballots still outstanding that were postmarked by Monday, Nov. 4th, and received by the canvass, will be added into the results, which could impact those results.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man wounded in a shooting died at a Davenport hospital. Officers were sent around 11 p.m. Wednesday to check a report of a shooting. They were at the scene when they learned that a man believed to have been wounded there was taken by private vehicle to the hospital. Police have identified him as 43-year-old Frederick Ewing.
The shooting is being investigated. No arrests have been reported.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer, in Iowa, has privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations. The overtures from Pat Murphy, a former state House speaker who is serving as a top adviser on Steyer’s Iowa campaign, aren’t illegal — though payments for endorsements would violate campaign finance laws if not disclosed. There’s no evidence that any Iowans accepted the offer or received contributions from Steyer’s campaign as compensation for their backing. But the proposals could revive criticism that the billionaire Steyer is trying to buy his way into the White House.

Several state lawmakers and political candidates said they were surprised Steyer’s campaign would think he could buy their support. Tom Courtney, a former Democratic state senator from southeastern Iowa who’s running for reelection to his old seat, told The Associated Press the financial offer “left a bad taste in my mouth.” Alberto Lammers, Steyer’s campaign press secretary, said Murphy was not authorized to make the offers and that the campaign leadership outside of Iowa was unaware that he was doing so until the issue was raised by The Associated Press.

Courtney declined to name Murphy as the Steyer aide who made the offer, but several other local politicians said they received similar propositions, and all confirmed the proposal came from Murphy himself. Another, Iowa state Rep. Karin Derry, said Murphy didn’t explicitly offer a specific dollar amount, but made it clear Derry would receive financial support if she backed Steyer. Lammers, Steyer’s campaign press secretary, said the candidate hasn’t made any individual contributions to local officials in Iowa and won’t be making any this year. In an email, Lammers said Steyer’s endorsements “are earned because of Tom’s campaign message,” and distanced the candidate from Murphy.

The overtures do not appear to have made much of a difference for Steyer. Aside from Murphy’s support, Steyer has received the endorsement of just one Iowan since entering the race in July — former state Rep. Roger Thomas. Experts say a campaign could violate campaign finance laws if they don’t disclose payments for endorsements.

The billionaire businessman built his fortune in banking and investment management before turning to politics, and though he’s never held public office he invested tens of millions of dollars in political activism and electoral politics before launching his presidential bid this year. Prior to his presidential run, Steyer’s most recent focus was a multi-million-dollar, pro-impeachment campaign, and as the U.S. House takes up the issue, he’s argued he’s put it on the national agenda. Steyer has largely self-funded his presidential campaign, spending $47.6 million of his own money in the first three months since launching his bid, much of that on online fundraising and advertising. Steyer qualified for the November debate, but he remains at the back of the pack in early-state and national polls.