Arrested Developments

While they were on a walk along the Thomas Park trail in Marion on April 22, a random person found a random Nokia cell phone laying on the ground, Marion police reported in a search warrant returned Tuesday. The “concerned citzen,” as he or she was called, looked at the text messages on the phone to see if they could find out whose it was (in my case, it would have been just plain curiosity). The concern came in when they noticed the messages contained detailed information about thefts and other criminal mischief.

The phone was turned in to Marion police. Now they’ve got all the person’s contacts and text messages. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people get arrested. I’ll let you know!

UPDATE: Marion police Lt. Steve Etzel said the phone turned out to belong to a teenage Marion girl who was exchanging the text messages with her friends as a joke. Police talked to her parents, they gave back the phone, and now everything’s grand.

So…I suppose you shouldn’t lose your phone when you’re joking about committing crimes, either.

My story about the sudden death of 18-month-old Linus Chalupa due to an allergic reaction he had to food at his babysitter’s house was buried on page 5B of Saturday’s Iowa Today section. But the importance of the story to parents and caregivers alike should have warranted it front-page attention. Food allergies — especially those to wheat and nuts — need to be taken seriously.

As I wrote in my story, about 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies. Between 100 and 200 die from them each year, according to Food and Drug Administration statistics. I talked to Miriam Landsman, executive director of the University of Iowa’s National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, who said parents and child-care providers must communicate about children’s food allergies and have documents on hand outlining foods they cannot eat. Caregivers for children with food allergies also should be able to identify signs of allergic reactions and have the appropriate medication, epinephrine, on hand to counter them, she said.

We may never know if his babysitter knew Linus was having a reaction or if the parents provided her with medication to treat it since they all refused to talk to me directly about the case. Whatever the cause or treatment, however, knowing why this little boy died will hopefully save lives in the future.

Most food reactions begin soon after ingestion and last less than a day, affecting any four of the following body systems. Here’s how to tell if you or your child is having an allergic reaction:

1. Skin. Skin reactions are the most common type of food allergy reactions. They can take the form of itchy, red, bumpy rashes (hives), eczema, or redness and swelling around the mouth or face.
2. Gastrointestinal system. Symptoms can take the form of belly cramps, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
3. Respiratory system. Symptoms can range from a runny or stuffy nose, itchy, watery eyes, and sneezing to the triggering of asthma with coughing and wheezing.
4. Cardiovascular system. A person may feel lightheaded or faint.

A doctor will be able to correctly diagnose a food allergy and prescribe shots of epinephrine to keep on hand in case of severe allergic reaction.

James Patterson already had a patchy criminal history of petty theft and burglary when he started checking DVDs out of the Marion Public Library earlier this year — and stopped returning them. After two months, the 20-year-old now owes more than $400 in overdue fines there, and the staff banned him from checking out any more. Now Marion police say he’s resorted to stealing them, and they served a search warrant at his residence to prove it.

In the application for the search warrant, police said library staff reported seeing Patterson carry nearly 20 movies from the DVD section over two days in mid-April and taking them to the children’s section, where he broke the cases with a knife and took the DVD inside. A police officer caught him in the act the second time.

He’s being charged with fourth-degree theft. Take that! Maybe now I’ll finally get to rent that copy of “Red Dawn” I’ve been waiting for…

Our story about the Vinton police officer who saved three people from a raging house fire was very descriptive, but you will REALLY get a feel for what it looked like if you watch this short clip from the officer’s patrol car dash cam.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/assets/swf/vintonfire/vintonfire.html

WOW! Roger Roseberry is a brave man…

Almost 20 area gas stations, convenience stores and bars sold cigarettes to minors during rounds of compliance checks this month.

Cedar Rapids checked 240 stores. Among repeat offenders, the Casey’s at 130 41st Ave. Dr. SW was non-compliant this time, as well as the Casey’s at 641 Edgewood Rd. NW and Guppy’s on the Go, 1532 Ellis Blvd. NW. The 41st Ave. Dr. Casey’s was cited at least twice before, and Guppy’s once. The Edgewood Rd. one was tested twice this round and failed BOTH times. Of Linn County’s outlying tobacco retailers, two retailers in Prairiesburg and Troy Mills failed the “test” this time.

It’s not that hard to ask for an ID. If people want to smoke or buy alcohol, they should have their ID on them. When I was a checker at Hy-Vee, it was our rule that we were required to ask for an ID if someone looked younger than 30. They put us through a short, mandatory training on recognizing fake IDs and being assertive when requiring ID. As a result, I’m sure I put the kibosh on a few college students’ weekend plans…but what do you do?

Bottom line — if your buyer looks young enough to make the sale illegal, it’s better to not take chances unless you’d like to pay a fine of up to $1,500 to someone who needs it less than you do.

Here are some quick updates on what’s happening with juveniles involved in Wellington Heights fights and assaults:

Remember the group of boys who allegedly attacked 24-year-old Alexander Morwood near Third Avenue and 15th Street SE on Jan. 10? They broke his jaw, and he was hospitalized for surgery. The oldest of the group members, Xavier Hicks, will be 18 on April 29. His case was transferred to adult court, where he is facing a felony charge of willful injury and a misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury. He is set to go to trial June 9. Two other boys involved — Maxwell Woods, 17, and Tracy Traylor, 15, both admitted to juvenile charges of assault causing bodily injury and were placed in residential treatment. Another boy’s file was closed.

Another boy accused of involvement in the March 30 brouhaha in the 1600 block of Second Avenue SE has been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct – Gabriel D. Taylor, 15, of 420 15th St. SE. Police said Taylor was screaming obscenities, trying to incite a fight and threatening police officers attempting to break things up. I haven’t seen any formal charges filed yet against the boy originally arrested, Jahmal Ginger. It sounded like the bunch of people with sticks and shovels showed up at his house to start the fight, so it probably wasn’t his fault…

And, last but not least, 15-year-old Damia Cungtion is accused in juvenile court of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon for using a baseball bat to bash another girl’s head March 22 outside of Cungtion’s home at 1417 Fifth Ave. SE. BTW, that is the home of Delinda Morgan, where Chicago-area murder suspect Javon Dockery was arrested two days before this assault.

Other than that, the neighborhood’s beautiful as always!

This week is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Every year, communities across the nation hold rallies and other activities in honor of the more than 23 million people nationwide whose lives are touched by violent crime against themselves or their property each year — including about 50,000 Iowans, according to statistical data from the U.S. Department of Justice.

This year’s theme is ‘Justice for Victims. Justice for All’. “Treating victims of crime with the care and respect is a fundamental responsibility we all share. And, victim’s rights is a critical component in the foundation of our American justice system. So, as we pursue justice against perpetrators of crime, we must also, at the same time pursue justice for all individuals who are impacted by those crimes,” said Matthew G. Whitaker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, at a celebration on the Capitol steps Monday.

I hold this time of remembrance close to my heart. I am still struggling with the emotional and mental wounds of sexual assault, caused in September 2006 by a man who was my friend in high school. But even though it has been a long, painful journey, I have been lucky to remain relatively unscarred despite the crimes that have happened to me and people I love. Some crime victims don’t get the chance to heal.

Take this week as an opportunity to lift up and support victims of crime. Remember those eastern Iowans who have been killed in the last year — Sheryl, Ethan, Seth, Mira, and Eleanor Sueppel; Dennis First; Nathan Williams; Calvin Stringer; Jerome McEwen; and 8-month-old Antuwan Williams Jr. of Waterloo, just to name a few. And remember all the others whose lives have been seriously affected by crime.

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network

Six times a year, Tradeshow Productions owner Daryl Klein sponsors a gun show at Hawkeye Downs. Sellers rent booths from him in order to hawk their handguns, rifles and etc. to the background-check approved masses over a few days. Although two Iowa teens have been charged with stealing guns from the event in January, it’s not too often that illegal transactions go on inside his events, Klein said.

“We have strict rules we need to follow,” he said. “I will not allow vendors who have been found selling guns without the proper background checks to sell at my shows…and our security measures are tough.”

There are off-duty police officers and sheriff’s deputies who check every weapon that comes in the door to make sure they’re unloaded, also checking weapons on the way out. Exhibitors use their own methods to secure their weapons, he said, whether that’s by connecting them all with a cord or rope, or putting them inside a glass case. Tyler Carter and Ethan Johnston just “got lucky” when they ran out the door with their stolen guns, Klein said.

“The vendor’s table was right next to the door, and they must have just taken off running,” he said.

But, alas, their plan was faulty. In their haste, they didn’t realize one of the guns was missing a clip. So they took a chance when they returned the next time to ask for a clip for one of the stolen guns. The woman recognized them and pointed them out to security officers. They were searched, and officers found MORE stolen goods on them from the show. That time, security worked like it was supposed to, Klein said.

The people who attend the gun shows are looking for hunting weapons or handguns and pistols for concealed carrying or target practice, he said — the shows are NOT conduits for illegal sales. I, for one, appreciate that. Bureau of Justice statistics suggest that at least 1/3 of gun crimes involve stolen guns. Interestingly enough, they also say juvenile offenders are more likely to have guns than adults. Hm.

Pizza Hut delivery man James Spiers is apparently still traumatized by his run-in with a would-be robber in Des Moines. I’d be skeptical of that, except guns ARE frightening — especially when they’re pointed at your head.

It’s a good thing that this incident is making people talk about the right to carry a concealed handgun. I don’t think that carrying a gun is necessary to protect yourself, but other people do. That’s all fine and dandy. But it’s purely speculation if you think shooting the robber was the only way he would have gotten out of that alive. It’s still speculation if you think it wasn’t. The case is what it is.

I respect Spiers’ right to carry a gun, but that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with it, or that I even need to be as long as my next pizza delivery person doesn’t threaten me with a Glock for not tipping them well. It’s a free country. I think that approach would work well for a lot of other hot-topic issues, too…ahem.

This morning, county reporter Adam Belz and I got a rare glimpse inside the state’s second-largest county jail holding nearly 500 inmates, courtesy of Sheriff Don Zeller and Jail Administrator Michael Carr. And no, that’s not me in the picture…even though I’d like to see what it’s like to spend some time in jail. I’ve been told that’s not happening unless I actually commit a crime. Shucks.

Getting a good look at what the inmates have to go through every day inside those walls, though, really made me glad I haven’t had the opportunity. We started out on the fifth and fourth floors, where the highest-security male and female inmates are kept. They are locked out of their cells at 8 a.m. every morning and are forced to spend the day out in their small dayrooms, given nothing to do besides watch TV or sleep on the floor. They clean their own cells every day with a mop and broom. The prisoners with orders to have no contact with others can only come out of their rooms one at a time.

“We keep them out here so we can see everything,” Carr told us. “We don’t want them going in there and participating in sexual activity or other illegal activities.”

On the second and third floors, most live in dormitory-style rooms. The lifestyle there is a little more laid back. Even the ones in cells get to have more ”stuff” out in the dayroom with them all day, like newspapers, chess games and writing paper. Those cells aren’t exactly comfortable, though. It’s basically all metal and stone with a thin cushion on the bed. I can’t imagine spending months, sometimes even years, there.

They are all given time for recreation, which consists of merely weightlifting. What used to be the outdoor recreation area was made into living quarters by “slapping a roof on it,” Zeller said. Although they can all see outside, they won’t get to go there the whole time they’re incarcerated unless they’re going out for a dentist’s visit. And they won’t have any physical contact with loved ones, either. Visits are all completed across a sheet of glass.

 The visit actually reminded me of when my father took his church confirmation class on a tour of the juvenile detention center. They were “bad kids,” although he’s had worse since. But he did it to show them where they’d end up if they stayed on the paths they were going down. Granted, none of them are really successful now , but only one ended up in jail later…

(All photos from the Gazette archives)