Compiled by Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com

On the clock
Des Moines Police — July 26

4:02 p.m.
Bank robbery at US Bank. The suspect entered US Bank, located at 2718 Beaver Ave., from the east entry door. The suspect was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses and some type of scarf covering his face. The three bank employees stated they immediately thought they were going to get robbed. The suspect went to center teller window and with his hands in his pockets said, “Give me all your money. I have a gun and a police scanner. If you call the police I will shoot you.” Teller gave the suspect an unknown amount of money. The suspect went to the next teller and she gave him an unknown amount of money as well. The suspect ran out same door he entered through, ran west beside the bank and then headed south down an alley on the west side of the bank. Several witnesses said they saw the police scanner, but were unsure if they saw a gun. The suspect was believed to be a white male, 5 feet 4 inches and 15-20 years old with black hair.

4:50 p.m.
Items stolen when the victim left his residence in the 2800 block of Brattleboro Avenue, around 1:30 p.m. and returned at 3:30 p.m. When he returned he found his guitar and DVD player missing. Victim stated something was wrong with his apartment door, so no forced entry was necessary to gain entry into the apartment. There are no suspects at this time.

5 p.m.
Video games reported stolen. The victim reported someone entered her apartment in the 1400 block of East Walnut Street and stole her Playstation 2 and four video games. The victim said the door was locked, but there were no signs of forced entry. The victim said the items were sitting on her couch when they were taken.

6:14 p.m.
Breaking and entering reported in the 1000 block of Spring Street. The victim states someone broke through the walk-in door of the garage and took a nitrous bottle and other unknown miscellaneous tools valued at $435. No known suspect, but the victim’s son has been aware of Internet chat, talking about having obtained a bottle but needing a kit.

Dpcket Diving

The following is from a recent ruling made by the Iowa Court of Appeals regarding the state of Iowa vs. Luis Alberto Gomez-Rodriguez.

“Luis Alberto Gomez-Rodriguez immigrated to the United States from Cuba. He worked with his companion of seven and one-half years, Maria Rivero, buying, selling and remodeling homes in Florida. They accumulated approximately $120,000 to $150,000. In mid-2004, while Gomez-Rodriguez was away on a business trip, Rivero and Julio Sarol took the money and disappeared. Between June 2004 and February 2005, Gomez-Rodriguez made many attempts to locate Rivero and Sarol to obtain his share of the money that he and Rivero had accumulated. At some point, Gomez-Rodriguez was told that Julio Sarol had offered two people $10,000 to kill Gomez-Rodriguez.

“Gomez-Rodriguez eventually tracked Rivero and Sarol to Muscatine, Iowa. During the late afternoon on Feb. 23, 2005, Gomez-Rodriguez parked his van in a yard near a duplex where Rivero and Sarol were living. Armed with a six-shot .38 caliber revolver and a 10-shot 9mm semiautomatic pistol, Gomez-Rodriguez waited for the pair to return home. Shortly after 5 p.m., Rivero and Sarol arrived at their residence in their pickup truck and parked the vehicle behind their home. At that point, Gomez-Rodriguez approached the truck and shot Sarol several times. Rivero got out of the truck and ran away screaming. Gomez-Rodriguez chased her down the street, repeatedly shooting at her. After Rivero fell, he caught up with her, stood over her, and shot her once in the back. He then returned to the truck and shot Sarol two more times. Both Rivero and Sarol died of their injuries. Gomez-Rodriguez left the scene in his van. He was pursued by police and after a short standoff, surrendered and was taken into custody.

“At the police station, Gomez-Rodriguez told an officer that he had tried to talk to Sarol and Rivero, but Sarol pulled a red-colored gun and he got scared. A flare gun, loaded with a flare, was found near Sarol’s body.

“Gomez-Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of interference with official acts. A jury found him guilty of all three counts. He was sentenced to a life sentence for each of the murders and a five-year sentence for the interference charge, to run concurrently. Gomez-Rodriguez has failed to establish either a breach of duty or prejudice. His trial counsel’s conduct fell well within the range of competent professional assistance. Upon careful review of the record, we find no reason to believe the outcome of the case would have been different if his trial counsel had argued the defense of imperfect self-defense. Because we find no merit to Gomez-Rodriguez’s ineffective assistance claim, we affirm his convictions.”

Busted

Name: Yardy Russell
The story: Des Moines police arrested Russell after he was seen prying an apartment door open. The victim had left her apartment in the 2400 block of Hickman Road and when she returned she observed the suspect, whom she knew, prying and attempting to open the door. When Russell saw the victim, he immediately left the building. The victim called police and Russell was found in his vehicle in the parking lot on the west side of the 2200 block of 26th Street. Russell, who had a knife on him, was identified by the victim and taken to the Polk County Jail.

Most wanted

Name: Steve Davis
Age: 49
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 200 lbs.
Hair: Gray
Eyes: Blue
Wanted for: Fraud charges.

Davis is wanted by the U.S. Marshall’s Service for a probation violation based on a fraud charge. If you know where to find this fugitive, call Crime Stoppers at 223-1400.

340 : The number of millions of gallons of ethanol Iowa produces per year.

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