Compiled by Andrew Brink andrew@dmcityview.com

On the clock

2:35 a.m.
Shooting at Kum & Go (2930 Hickman Rd). The victim told Des Moines Police that while he was in the Kum & Go parking lot, a fight broke out. The victim heard a gun being fired and ran to the corner of 31st Street and Hickman Road. He noticed that his leg was numb and then “saw blood.” The victim’s friends escorted him to Iowa Methodist Medical Center where he received treatment for a gunshot wound to his right leg. The victim did not see the shooter or any vehicles leaving the scene after he was shot. At the time of the report, the victim was in stable condition.

3:56 a.m.
Robbery at Burger King (2222 MLK Jr. Pkwy.). Des Moines Police received a call from Burger King that the restaurant had been robbed. In the police report, the responding officer wrote, “I had just left the Burger King 10-15 minutes before the call came in. It is possible that the suspect saw me in the drive-thru and waited until I left to rob the store. I could not find the suspect so I went inside to get witness information.”

3:30 p.m.
Burglary in the 100 block of S.E. Jackson Avenue. The victim told Des Moines Police that she had $1,000 in cash stolen from the dresser in her bedroom. The victim stated that she and her boyfriend had been saving the money to pay rent. There were no signs of forced entry. The victim recalled that the bedroom window had been left open the day before the robbery. The victim identified a female suspect who had been “acting strange” and who visited the victim during the time period when the money was allegedly stolen. However, Des Moines Police could find no evidence that the suspect stole the money.

Busted

Name: Heather Dawn Alford
The story: On May 20, Des Moines Police observed Alford on a “public sidewalk with watery bloodshot eyes, an odor of an alcoholic beverage, slurred speech and an unsteady gait.” Alford was handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car, at which time she started “yelling and screaming and lurching forward.” The officer instructed Alford to stop. She didn’t comply, so the officer “assisted” her out of the vehicle. As Alford exited the vehicle, she kneed the officer in the groin. She was then instructed to sit on the ground, where she “continued to yell and scream and began flailing her legs.” Alford was eventually transported to Polk County Jail where she was charged with public intoxication and assaulting a police officer.

1,042 : the number of weapons violations in Iowa in 2005 (an increase of .2% from 2004).

Docket Diving

The following is from a recent ruling made by the Iowa Court of Appeals regarding the case of Helen Woods vs. Des Moines Public School District and EMC Insurance Companies:

Helen Woods appeals the district court’s ruling on judicial review affirming the decision of the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner. Because substantial evidence supports the district court’s ruling, we affirm.

Woods was employed as a school bus driver with the Des Moines Public School District when she suffered a work-related injury to her right shoulder on August 18, 1999. The parties settled her workers’ compensation claim on July 17, 2001, agreeing the injury caused a 17.5 percent industrial disability. Woods received benefits in the amount of $24,409.62.

In September of 2004, a hearing was held before a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner to determine whether review-reopening of her 1999 claim was warranted due to a substantial change in her condition not contemplated at the time of settlement. Woods also claimed she had sustained a work-related injury to her left shoulder on May 22, 2000, and an additional injury to her right shoulder on May 1, 2002, for each of which she sought temporary and permanent disability benefits.

The deputy workers’ compensation commissioner declined [to] review [or] reopen the 1999 claim and found no compensable injury was sustained on May 1, 2002. The deputy commissioner did find [that] Woods suffered a 20 percent industrial injury to her left shoulder on May 22, 2000 and awarded her $27,862 of permanent partial disability benefits. The workers’ compensation commissioner affirmed.

Woods filed a petition for judicial review. In its June 1, 2006 order, the district court concluded [the following]:

The Court finds that all of the challenged findings of the commissioner are supported by substantial evidence. Petitioner has not established the criteria necessary to review or reopen the proceedings involving her August 18, 1999 right shoulder injury. The commissioner’s finding that Petitioner’s fibromyalgia and chronic myofascial pain syndrome are not causally related to her work-related shoulder injuries is supported by substantial evidence. The commissioner’s finding that Petitioner’s depression is not causally related to her workplace shoulder injuries is likewise supported by substantial evidence. Finally the commissioner’s finding that Petitioner suffered a 20 percent industrial disability as a result of her May 22, 2000 left shoulder injury is supported by substantial evidence.

Missing

Name: Kyanja K. Vanwey
Age at report: 18
Age now: 19
Weight: 210 lbs.
Height: 5’06”
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Female

Kyanja K. Vanwey was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines on Jan. 4, 2006.

If you have information regarding the disappearance of this individual, please contact the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 1-800-346-5507.

If you recognize this missing person, do not take any action yourself. Get as much information as you can (e.g., exact location of sighting) and then call the number listed above.

From the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse Web site: http://www.iowaonline.state.ia.us/mpic/

Comment on this story | Return to top