Compiled by Bethany Kohoutek bethany@dmcityview.com

Dispatcher: 911...

Caller: I'd like to report an assault at the Greater Des Moines Softball Complex.
D: I'm sorry, what's going on there?
C: I'd like to report an assault.
D: Are you still there now?
C: Yeah.
D: Is the... [assaulter] still there?
C: I don't know.
D: Did it just occur?
C: It occurred about 10, 15 minutes ago...
D: Where are you at, at the...
C: I am at the Greater Des Moines Softball Complex.
D: Where at the complex?
C: It's off of...
D: No, no, no. I know where it's at. There are multiple diamonds there. Are you in the parking lot, at the concession stand?
C: I'm in the parking lot...
D: Were you playing?
C: Yes.
D: And he was playing?
C: Yes....
D: OK, and what kind of car are you by? ... Are you by your vehicle so they know where to look in the parking lot for you?
C: I'll see them when they come in.
D: You'll make yourself known?
C: Yeah, I'll make myself known.
D: OK, we'll send somebody over...

Officer's Report: [The victim] reported that he was assaulted as he played softball. He described the incident as him running from first base to second base into a forced out. [He] indicated that he has had hamstring difficulty and therefore was unable to slide into second base. [He] indicated that he "made contact" with the second baseman, after which the second baseman punched him twice on the left side of his facial area (breaking the glasses he was wearing). I observed some redness and what appeared to be swelling in this area. [He] indicated that he was interested in pursuing a criminal assault charge... I spoke with [the home-plate umpire] and [he] indicated that the base runner "threw an elbow" into the face/head area of the second baseman and then [the baseman] punched him. He indicated that a fracas ensued... [several] combatants were separated and [the umpire] took the names of the four involved in fighting and passed them along to the league administrator... [A witness in the bleachers indicated that] he did not see the extent of the "contact" between the base runner and second baseman, but did see the second baseman punch the base runner twice. He characterized it as the base runner was blindsided by the punches... I plan to attempt to contact the league administrator this week to follow up any identifying information about [the baseman and his brother, who was also reportedly involved]... [The victim] concluded that he does not wish to pursue a criminal assault charge at this time, and that documenting the incident would be adequate...

Docket diving

For committing one of the grisliest murders in recent Iowa history, Kenny Chris Hemm will spend his life behind bars at Iowa's maximum-security prison in Anamosa. That's after he was convicted - twice - of first-degree murder and second-degree arson.

Hemm's unusual case began in April of 2000, when his friend Larry Pippenger, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, spent the night at Hemm's home in Eldon, Iowa. At 2:09 a.m., authorities responded to a 911 call to find Hemm's home "engulfed in fire," according to court documents. An hour later, officers responded to a second call, this one from Hemm's mother and stepfather, to report Hemm's car, which was parked at their house, also ablaze. Authorities located Hemm inside the house, and he related "a rather bizarre chain of events," the court reported: "He said he awoke in his home and discovered the fire. He ran out of the house, noting that Pippenger, who had been sleeping on the couch... was not there, but his wheelchair was outside on the ground." Hemm said he saw a van drive away and tried to follow it, when he noticed that his car was on fire. He drove the burning car to his mother's home.

A few hours later, another burning vehicle was reported at an abandoned house outside of Eldon. There, respondents discovered Pippenger's body, decapitated, dismembered, with "his genitals... placed inside his mouth," police reported.
In April 2001, Hemm was tried and convicted by a Wapello County jury, but the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. In February of 2003, a new jury re-convicted Hemm of the same charges. Again, Hemm appealed, citing "insufficient evidence" and lack of motive. This time, the appeals court disagreed and affirmed his charges.

For its part, the state claimed that Hemm's descriptions of his actions on the night of the murder were "inconsistent." Prosecutors believe that Hemm stabbed Pippenger to death, then used a hacksaw to dismember Pippenger's body in the bathtub. Hemm set fire to the house to destroy the evidence, and drove the body to the abandoned house. Hemm returned to Eldon and torched his own car, then drove back to set the body ablaze.

"Contrary to Hemm's arguments... the record includes sufficient evidence supporting his convictions," the judge ruled.

On the clock

Des Moines Police - June 8

4:30 a.m.
Trespass and attempted burglary at Principal Park (the I-Cubs stadium) in Des Moines. An I-Cubs employee said he had been sleeping in the locker room when a male suspect fell from a ceiling air vent onto the floor of the locker room. The suspect then ran out onto the outfield toward right field. Officers enlisted the help of a police dog, which led officers to the suspect, who was hiding in a bathroom on the south side of the complex, underneath the lower-level seats. After he was arrested, the suspect told officers that he was "on the run" and admitted breaking into the locker room through an air vent; however, he stated that he did not steal anything. A search of the suspect's person turned up cigarettes, a gold necklace, a corkscrew, miscellaneous papers, some change and a battery. The suspect was transported to the Polk County Jail.

1:30 p.m.
Public intoxication and assault in the 3200 block of E. Dean Avenue. The suspect was involved in a hit-and-run accident at E. 30th and Walnut streets before she left the crime scene and entered the fairgrounds during the World Pork Expo. Fair police located the suspect's vehicle, and police apprehended the suspect when she returned to her car. The suspect could not find her ID, and she had a "strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech, poor unstable balance, bloodshot watery eyes," according to police. After she was arrested, she also kicked one officer in the leg, and "kneed and kicked" another officer "in the groin area." Neither officer was injured, and the suspect was transported to the Polk County Jail.

Sucks to be you

Name: Charlie Cole Stroud
Place of Incident: Des Moines
Posed for this picture because: An off-duty Polk County deputy was working security at a wedding reception when Charlie Cole Stroud decided to crash the party. After being asked to leave, he allegedly "touched the clothed left thigh/buttocks" of a female guest on his way out. When the deputy located Stroud outside, he began "speaking very bizarre, about books, the military and how the world is ending," the deputy reported. Stroud was charged with simple assault and transported to the Polk County Jail.

Copping a feel

A recent judicial decision raises questions about when cops have "probable cause" to search a suspect. In March of 2004, Antonio Ragsdale was searched by a Waterloo police officer for lingering in a "high drug-trafficking area," according to court documents. The officer noticed a "bulge" in Ragsdale's pants pocket; when he asked what it was, Ragsdale ran. The officer apprehended him, and reached into Ragsdale's pocket to find several baggies of pot. Ragsdale was convicted of intent to deliver marijuana. On appeal, Ragsdale claimed the search was illegal, and the Iowa Court of Appeals agreed, noting that the cop violated Ragsdale's rights. The court held that merely standing in a high-crime area and having a visible bulge in one's pocket is not grounds for frisking. Ragsdale's conviction was reversed.

(Alleged) drug dealers

Name: April Heather Gibson
Arrested: June 7
Possession with intent to deliver narcotics

Name: Tricia Ann Wells
Arrested: June 6
Possession with intent to deliver narcotics

Name: Timothy Edward Smith
Arrested: June 6
Possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine

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