Compiled by Bethany Kohoutek bethany@dmcityview.com

Dispatcher: 911...

Dispatcher: 911...
location of your emergency?

Caller: I just need to file a police report. I was held against my will.

D: OK, where at?

C: At Cutty's Campground, but I'm not there now. I'm at BP [gas station] on 141.

D: OK.

C: And I had my cell phone taken away from me... Hello?

D: I'm still here. Hold on just a second.

C: My girlfriend thinks it's a good idea that I file a police report.

D: Are you in the parking lot or are you in the store?

C: I'm in the parking lot. I just walked four miles here, or however far it is from Cutty's to here.

D: Do you know who held you?

C: Yeah, it's my ex-boyfriend...

D: OK, if you want to just hang out there in the parking lot, we'll get the deputy that way. Do you need an ambulance or anything?

C: No, I don't. No, I'm OK.

D: OK, we'll send them out.

C: Thank you.

D: You bet.

Officer's Report: I met with [the victim] at the BP station in Grimes. [She] states she was assaulted by her ex-boyfriend... at Cutty's Campground. [She] confronted [him] about text messaging her friends with rude messages. [He] became upset and bit her on the right arm three times and scratched her wrist as they were fighting over [her] cell phone. Photos were taken of [her] arm and wrist. I made contact with [the suspect] at Cutty's Campground. [The suspect] stated that [the victim] and him were dating for about six months, and they were biting each other earlier in the night when they were having sex. Contrary to [the victim's] story, who stated they have not been together in two months. Since there were marks on [the victim] from the argument, [the suspect] was arrested and taken to jail without further incident.

Docket diving

Meatpacking plants don't exactly have a clean track record when it comes to taking care of their employees. Former IBP employee Jesus Rios' case is no exception.

In 1998 - six years after Rios was hired at the Iowa Beef Processors plant in Des Moines County - he began experiencing pain and swelling in his left knee. At the time, Rios, a then-40-year-old immigrant from Mexico, was working with machinery that required standing for eight hours per day and constant twisting at the knees.

By 2001, the pain had grown bad enough that Rios sought treatment. His physician diagnosed him with joint effusion (bruising from trauma or overuse of a joint), which was confirmed by a second opinion at a later date. Rios' doctor gave him anti-inflammatory medication and advised him to take two days off work.

The pain persisted. For the next four years, Rios underwent biopsies, treatment and two surgeries, and was judged to be 10 percent disabled. He developed a limp. In 2002, an independent doctor said Rios' injuries would render him unable to stand for long periods of time, and make it difficult to climb stairs or squat. The doctor added that these conditions were due, at least in part, to the nature of Rios' job at IBP (which had been acquired by Tyson in 2001).

When Rios filed for workers' compensation, however, his claim was denied. IBP's claims investigator ruled that Rios had failed to establish any connection between his knee problems and his work at the plant. The decision was based, in part, on notes from one doctor who indicated that Rios' condition may have been only "aggravated" by his work at IBP, but not caused by it.

Both the Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner and a district court in Des Moines County sided with the packing plant, and ordered that Rios foot the bill for all of his legal proceedings.

In a victory for Rios, however, the Iowa Court of Appeals this week reversed those rulings. According to the appeals court, both lower bodies had failed to take seriously the aggravation factor, looking only at whether Rios' knee troubles were caused by his job - an important difference in the eyes of the court. Rios' case was handed back to the state's worker compensation commissioner for reconsideration. Rios left his job at IBP, Inc. in 2002.

A February 2005 report by the watchdog organization Human Rights Watch shows that Rios' case is far from isolated. Researchers concluded that, among other labor and safety abuses, Tyson and other companies "frequently deny workers' compensation to employees injured on the job."

Sucks to be you

Name: Jonathan Leroy Hingtgen
Location: Iowa City
Posed for this picture because: Oops, he did it again. Jonathan Leroy Hingtgen had already been busted in 2000 for having "indecent contact" with a child under the age of 13, a crime that landed him on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry. But last week, the 24-year-old admitted to Iowa City cops that he had sex with another female minor, this one 15 years old, in April. He is currently being housed in the Linn County Jail.

(Fine) dine and dash

Three unnamed suspects racked up a $315.71 bill at the chic East Village eatery Centro on June 14, then fled without paying. The food-nabbers had exquisite tastes - items on their unpaid receipt include: two orders of Steak Centro (cooked rare) with scampi; steamed mussels; calamari; cavatelli; raspberry tiramisu; a strawberry balsamic dessert; two $10 dirty vodka martinis with blue cheese olives; an iced tea; three mojitos; a glass of chardonnay; two glasses of riesling; a glass of red wine; two orders of Bailey's (one on the rocks, one with coffee); an espresso; and one Niman Ranch pork chop (cooked medium-rare), to go. Witnesses told police they could identify the suspects, if necessary.

On the clock

Des Moines Police - June 15

1:15 a.m.
Robbery in the 1100 block of Keo Way. Police were dispatched to meet a female victim near the bus station. The victim stated that she was in Des Moines for a few hours, waiting for her bus transfer to California. She reported that two male suspects confronted her outside the station, grabbed her by the arms and punched her in the face, then took her black bag and her bicycle and fled toward the northeast. The police officer searched for her property without success. The officer's report said the victim appeared to be "mentally challenged."

10:00 a.m.
Burglary in the 2000 block of SE King Avenue. Upon arriving on scene, a female victim told police she walked out of the sliding door in her ground-floor living room and walked to another building down the street. When she returned, the door was open and her change purse was gone. When she went to her car to look for her purse, she noticed it lying empty in the grass nearby.

11:02 p.m.
Robbery in the 2800 block of East Euclid Avenue. Police were dispatched to the address regarding a shooting. They made contact with a male victim who had been washing his horse trailer when two male suspects wearing black T-shirts, shorts and masks approached him and demanded money. The victim took out his wallet and gave them $22. When the suspects attempted to grab his wallet, the victim "grabbed the spray wand and began hosing them down," according to the police report. One suspect shot the victim in the chest with a BB gun, then ran off. The victim chased the suspects, but was "quickly outdistanced."

(Alleged) drunk drivers

Name: Amy Elisabeth Benjamin
Arrested: June 15, 2006
Second offense

Name: Brandi Marie Wilson
Arrested: June 15
Second offense

Name: Davey Walter Koech
Arrested: June 12
Second offense

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