Compiled by Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com

On the clock
Des Moines Police — Oct. 2-6

Oct. 2, 6:50 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Burglary in the 1100 block of East 40th Street. The victim stated that she returned home from work and found a window broken out. When she went inside, she found her Playstation 2, video games and a hair dryer missing. A neighbor said they saw a red and tan car in the driveway, as well as two teenagers walking in the area.

Oct. 4, 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Burglary in the 2200 block of Drake Park Avenue. The victim stated that the landlord had people coming into the apartment for an inspection while the victim was at work. The victim returned home and noticed the screen on the west dinning room window was cut and leaning against the house. The victim noticed that his TV stand had been moved and his 52-inch RCA flat screen, valued at $3,000, was missing. The victim also had $800 in cash hidden under a sofa cushion, which was also missing. The victim said the back door was locked from the inside when he left for work, but was unlocked when he returned.

Oct. 6, 11:25 p.m.
Robbery in the 1000 block of Forest Avenue. The victim was heading eastbound on Forest Avenue when he noticed a black female screaming for help while being chased by six black males. The victim stopped to assist the female when the six males approached him and demanded that he give them all of his money. The victim said he didn’t see a weapon, but the suspects said they would kill him if he didn’t give them the money. The victim gave them his wallet, which contained $550 in cash, as well as his cell phone. The victim said the female and males fled the scene together.

Docket Diving

The following is from a recent ruling made by the Iowa Supreme Court of Appeals regarding the case of the State of Iowa vs. Melvin Laverne Mathis.

“Melvin Mathis appeals his judgment and sentence for delivery of methamphetamine. He contends the evidence is insufficient to support the jury’s finding of guilt, the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, the district court erred in overruling certain evidentiary objections, the district court should have granted his motion for a mistrial and trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in several respects.

“On appeal, Mathis contends ‘there was no evidence that [he] had methamphetamine,’ or that ‘he placed methamphetamine in the area the State’s witness claimed to have found it in.’ A man named Joe Privetta agreed to work as a confidential informant for the Tama Police Department. In that capacity, Privetta made several phone calls to Mathis to arrange a drug buy. Mathis agreed to sell Privetta a quarter ounce of methamphetamine for $400. Police officers fitted Privetta with a recording device and Privetta met Mathis to discuss the purchase. Later that night, however, Privetta arranged another meeting with Mathis, who agreed to sell Privetta an eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine for $300. At the designated time and place, Mathis gave Privetta a napkin in exchange for $300. Privetta assumed the napkin contained the methamphetamine, but it did not. When Privetta questioned Mathis, Mathis told him to look in the roads because he’d be amazed at what he found. Privetta found a bag of methamphetamine approximately twenty to twenty-five yards from where the money exchange took place.

“Although Privetta conceded that Mathis did not hand him the methamphetamine, a jury reasonably could have found from this evidence that Mathis delivered the drugs to him. Mathis moved for a mistrial. He argued that this evidence violated an earlier court ruling granting his motion to exclude evidence of a prior conviction. We conclude the reference was isolated, only indirectly implicated the prior conviction, and, in the context of the entire trial, did not deprive Mathis of a fair trial. We affirm Mathis’s judgment and sentence for delivery of methamphetamine. We find it unnecessary to address Mathis’s remaining ineffective assistance of counsel claims.”

Most wanted

Name: Jeffery Howard
Age: 43
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 185 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Wanted for: Failure to appear and assault.

If you know where to find this fugitive, call Crime Stoppers at 223-1400.

86,400 : The amount of seconds in a day.

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