(In an update to our previous report w/regard to search warrants)

DES MOINES, IOWA — Twenty-seven defendants are facing federal criminal charges as part of a joint federal and state investigation of a heroin and fentanyl drug trafficking organization. Twenty-one defendants are from Des Moines, five are from Chicago, and one is from Knoxville.

Most of the defendants were arrested on July 21, 2021; three individuals have yet to be arrested. The following defendants are charged with federal drug offenses in two criminal indictments:
• Malek Shawn Holmes, age 21, of Des Moines
• Pierre Fontain Black, age 30, of Des Moines
• Deshawn Levell Greer, age 29, of Des Moines
• Desmond Lamar Howard, age 30, of Des Moines
• Carl Murphy, age 52, of Chicago, Illinois
• Earl Otis Clay, III, age 29, of Des Moines
• Gregory Izell Spight, age 42, of Des Moines
• Michael Byrd, age 28, of Chicago, Illinois
• Azim Abdul-Ahad, age 22, of Des Moines
• Ronald Harris, age 35, of Des Moines
• Derrick Fleming, age 27, of Chicago, Illinois
• Patrick Staples, age 28, of Chicago, Illinois
• Brandon Reed, age 28, of Chicago, Illinois
• Tabaris Brown, age 22, of Des Moines
• Dandre Cox, age 21, of Des Moines
• Daeante Dewayne Neely, age 28, of Des Moines
• Elijah Seymour, age 33, of Des Moines
• Felicia Olson, age 29, of Des Moines
• Sarah Hume, age 39, of Des Moines
• Andrew Price, age 29, of Des Moines
• Jason Beaman, age 46, of Knoxville
• Jamisha Canada, age 44, of Des Moines
• Tonie Canada, age 39, of Des Moines
• Rickey’a Dee Jackson, age 22, of Des Moines
• Devante Jave Taylor, age 26, of Des Moines
• Tyler Robert Wood, age 30, of Des Moines
• Zakar Jeffrey, age 28, of Des Moines

All defendants arrested on July 21 have or will soon appear in federal court on the charges. The charges stem from a months’ long investigation into heroin and fentanyl distribution within the Des Moines area. The charges carry maximum penalties of up to life imprisonment, with a ten-year mandatory minimum prison term as to Malek Holmes, and five-year mandatory minimum prison terms as to Pierre Black, Deshawn Greer, Carl Murphy, Earl Clay, III, Gregory Spight, Michael Byrd, Azim Abdul-Ahad, Ronald Harris, Derrick Fleming, Patrick Staples, Brandon Reed, Tabaris Brown, Daeante Neely, Felicia Olson, Andrew Price, Jason Beaman, Jamisha Canada, and Tonie Canada. The public is reminded that charges contain only accusations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The charges were announced by Richard D. Westphal, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. Investigating and assisting agencies include: the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force; Central Iowa Gang Task Force; Des Moines Police Department; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Polk County Sheriff’s Office; Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Iowa State Patrol; Iowa Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center; Iowa State Patrol SWAT; United States Marshals Service; Central Iowa Drug Task Force; Drug Enforcement Agency; Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force East; Homeland Security Investigations; Altoona Police Department; Story County Sheriff’s Office; Ames Police Department; Norwalk Police Department; West Des Moines Police Department; Ankeny Police Department; METRO Star; SERT; Iowa 5th Judicial District; Federal Bureau of Investigation Chicago; Federal Bureau of Investigation Kansas City; Federal Bureau of Investigation Minneapolis; Federal Bureau of Investigation Omaha; and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

(Radio Iowa0 – Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra suggests the expansion of 5-G cellular communication could interfere with weather radar and the ability to get a decent forecast. Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, addressed the topic during this week’s meeting of the U-S House Science, Space and Technology Committee, saying it’s vital to have reliable eyes on the sky.

“Getting accurate weather information can save both lives and livelihoods of those in my district,” Feenstra says. “We saw several tornadoes last week in Iowa.” He says a report from the Government Accountability Office revealed multiple agencies must improve collaborative efforts to prevent interference with the ability to predict the weather. Feenstra says global positioning system satellites, which aid navigation, could also be impacted.

“A report…suggested that we have lost the ability to rely on GPS due to an outage,” Feenstra says. “It would cost our economy about a billion dollars a day if this happens. An outage during the springtime planting season could increase losses closer to $1.5 billion a day.” Feenstra says he’s working to find a remedy.

“I am currently drafting legislation, trying to find technological solutions to weather radar blockages and ghost echoes,” he says. Feenstra says 5-G expansion is important, but cannot come at the expense of accurate weather forecasting models that ag producers in his district rely on every day.

(Radio Iowa) – A nine-year-old from Spencer is preparing for a year of travel around the state as Li’l Miss Iowa. Caitlyn Barr participated in the pageant last year and won it this year. “My favorite parts have been meeting new people and having fun and I decided to come back this year because I didn’t win and I wanted to have that experience again,” she says. The pageant encourages contestants to focus on volunteering and community involvement.

“I volunteered at ‘Kindness for Covid’…One thing we did is we sang outside the hospital for Christmas,” she says. “That was really fun. I got to meet some new kids and we went to a nursing home and made signs for them, like one said, ‘You are loved’ or ‘Get Well Soon’ or ‘You are the best’.” During the pageant, Barr was recognized for having the best interview with the judges for contestants in her age group. Barr, who is entering fourth grade this fall, says after high school she’d like to be an Olympic gymnast and a cheerleader at the University of Northern Iowa.

Caitlyn Barr

“Then I’d like to be a teacher or a police officer, but I really want to be the teacher,” she says. The Miss Iowa Youth Program started 28 years ago for girls between the ages of six and 12. A Li’l Miss Iowa and a Junior Miss Iowa are crowned each year at a pageant held in Muscatine.

DES MOINES– Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Thursday) announced her appointment of Gina Badding as a judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals. Badding, of Carroll (Iowa), currently serves as a district judge in Judicial Election District 2B. She previously practiced law with Neu, Minnich, Comito, Halbur, Neu & Badding, P.C., in Carroll. Badding received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Judge Gina Badding (Iowa Judicial Branch official photo)

The Iowa Court of Appeals is Iowa’s intermediate appellate court. It is composed of nine judges and decides appeals from district courts across Iowa. Badding will fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Iowa Court of Appeals Judge Richard H. Doyle of Des Moines.

Des Moines, Iowa – The Iowa Insurance Division reports a Pottawattamie County man recently entered an Alford plea in Pott. County District Court, to a (Class B) Felony charge of Ongoing Criminal Conduct. Officials say as part of his plea, 39-year-old Chad Mackland, of Council Bluffs, received a deferred judgment, was placed on probation for three years, was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $30,000 in victim pecuniary damages.

On July 9,  2021 the Iowa Insurance Division filed a consent order which permanently revoked Mackland’s Iowa resident insurance producers license. His sentence followed an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.

Booking photo supplied by the Pottawattamie County Jail.