Compiled by Bethany Kohoutek bethany@dmcityview.com

Dispatcher: 911...

Dispatcher: 911, what's the address of your emergency?
Caller: Yes, ma'am. ... I'm from Terrace Hills Golf Course, and I've got a couple - I have two groups of golfers who've had an altercation out here on the golf course, and one of them would like to have a deputy come out and sort it out...
D: Alrighty, what's the address out there?
C: 8700 N.E. 45th Ave...
D: OK, we'll get somebody out there. Take them to the clubhouse?
C: Yes, if the officer would just come to the clubhouse, please.
D: OK, thank you.
C: Thank you.

Officer's Report: [The victim] called the sheriff's office to report an assault. [He] and his father... were teamed up in a foursome with [two other men]. As the group was playing the back nine holes at Terrace Hills Golf Course, the group behind hit their balls close to [the victim's] group, and [the victim] had asked them to wait until his group was done on that hole before they proceeded. [The victim] said one member of the other group replied, "If you can't play the game, get off the course." On Hole 13, the two groups met near the 13th green, and a member of the group behind [them] was confronted by [the victim]. Words were exchanged, and [the victim] shoved [a man from the other group] in the chest. [The man] shoved [the victim] back. [The victim] then called the sheriff's office to pursue assault charges. All witnesses listed were interviewed, and the two reports differ. [The victim] and [his father] allege that [a man from the other team] was "in [the victim's father's] face" and placed him in a headlock, stating, "I'm gonna kick your ass." All other witnesses state that [the victim] initiated the incident... [The victim] was referred to the county attorney to pursue assault charges. I did not feel comfortable filing an assault charge, as the two stories were different. No one claimed injuries or requested rescue.

Docket diving

William Lucas Jr., Brent Saner and Debbie Gentry had a plan. They knew Michael Harper was about to rat them out for stealing a paintball gun, and they wanted to scare him into shutting up. They'd kick him around a little, beat him up, to let him know they were serious about him keeping his mouth closed.

For a while, everything went according to plan. But in the end, all three perpetrators ended up in prison, with Saner and Lucas serving life terms for first-degree murder.

As part of their plot, Gentry (who was Saner's girlfriend) baited Harper into "walking her home," according to court documents, by pretending to cry and telling Harper that she and Saner had gotten into an argument. Instead, she led Harper to a wooded area on the outskirts of Burlington, where Saner and Lucas were waiting. The two men eventually attacked Harper.

While the assault was in progress, Harper's girlfriend happened to call his cell phone, which was set to automatically answer. In court, she testified that she heard "a lot of shuffling around and wrestling," followed by her boyfriend screaming, "Let me go, don't touch me, get off me, stay away from me."

Gentry had lagged behind Lucas and Saner. When they emerged from the woods, Gentry noticed that Lucas had blood "all over his face," according to court testimony. He took a shower when he got back to the apartment, and Gentry watched Saner wrap a knife in a "sock or a white garment."

Panicked, the three fabricated a story they'd tell if interrogated by police: They'd simply been walking down the street when they saw Harper, talked to him for a few moments, then parted ways.

It didn't take long for the story to crumble.

The next day, Harper's mother reported him missing. Police immediately questioned Lucas and Saner, who stuck to their story. The following evening, however, Harper's father found his mutilated body in the woods. A coroner's report indicated that he'd died of 111 stab wounds and strangulation.

Lucas, meanwhile, was having trouble coping with his guilt and paranoia. "Everything wasn't meant to happen the way it did," he confessed to one friend, his voice cracking. Police decided to interview Saner and Lucas again. Under more intense pressure, their story unraveled. At the end of the interview, police arrested the pair and charged them with first-degree murder. Later, investigators found clothing belonging to Lucas and Saner that was stained with Harper's blood.

In April of 2005, about a year after the slaying, Lucas and Saner, who are both 21 years old now, were convicted of first-degree murder. Gentry, who is 19, was sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy. Lucas recently appealed the verdict, citing "insufficient evidence" to convict him.

The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected his appeal, mainly based on an incriminating letter that Lucas wrote to a fellow inmate he'd befriended in jail while awaiting trial. In the missive, Lucas revealed that both he and Saner were armed with knives from the start, and that he was personally responsible for about "one-third" of Harper's stab wounds. At one point, Lucas wrote, his knife got stuck in the back of Harper's neck, "and when it was pulled free, it made a noise that sounded like something was being broken..."

The appellate court ruled that there was "substantial evidence" to keep Lucas behind bars.

Sucks to be you

Name: Kameelah Yasmeen Logan
Location: Des Moines
Posed for this picture because: We're not sure why Kameelah Logan is smiling. She's currently in Polk County Jail, facing a charge of assault with willful injury. At press time, Jonathan Lee Bradley of Des Moines was in serious condition after Logan allegedly stabbed him in the chest after a dispute between the two. Police report that locating Logan after the alleged crime was not an issue: While officers were present, she returned to the house where she'd allegedly attacked Bradley.

In the doghouse

Animal control officers confiscated two dogs from the property of Elizabeth Burciaga of Des Moines after the pooches were found outside in the 93-degree heat, without food or water, for three-and-a-half hours. When Burciaga showed up to claim her pets, she told officers that one of the dogs was not hers, but a "friend's." And when it came time to sign the citations, Burciaga allegedly changed her story again and said that neither dog was hers. Officers advised her that if she did not take care of the citations, a warrant would be issued for her arrest, to which she asked, "Oh, do you go to Mexico?"

On the clock

Des Moines Police - July 17

2:15 a.m.
Assault near the intersection of 57th Street and Douglas Road. The victim and suspects were at a bar and were "talking shit" about World Cup soccer, according to police reports. The bar closed and the victim called a cab. While he waited, the suspects approached him and began assaulting him. Afterward, they drug the victim to the middle of Douglas Road and left him there. He suffered injuries, including cuts to the arm.

4:38 p.m.
Death investigation in the 1300 block of Watrous Avenue. A neighbor observed the female victim lying in the backyard of her home. She was unresponsive, so the neighbor called 911. When authorities arrived, the woman was deceased. Officers noted that foul play was unlikely, as the woman appeared elderly and the temperature was in the upper '90s.

7:45 p.m.
Assault on an officer in the 1600 block of Walker Street. Police were in the process of helping a mother fill out a runaway report for her son, when one officer spotted the juvenile male in a field across the street. Officers persuaded the boy to cross the street and talk with his mother. He did so, but when his mother told him to go to his room, he sat on the floor and refused. Officers attempted to "grab his arms and stand him up," but he began kicking one officer in the leg. He was placed in handcuffs and transported to Polk County's juvenile detention center.

(Alleged) drunk drivers

Name: Nicholas Kimo Clark
Arrested: July 20
First offense

Name: Vasken Barkev Haroutunian
Arrested: July 17
Second offense

Name: Jerry Lee Atwood
Arrested: July 14
Second offense

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