Compiled by Jared Curtis jared@dmcityview.com

On the clock

Des Moines Police

April 11-14, 5 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Burglary in the 400 block of Laurel Street. The victim, a doctor, stated that his assistant and secretary both entered the office and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. When the victim entered his personal office, the desk drawers and file cabinets were pulled open. There was no sign of forced entry and it is possible that the suspect(s) had a key. Three blank prescription pads were missing and the victim wasn’t sure if the signature stamp was missing.

April 13-14, 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Burglary in the 3200 block of Ingersoll Avenue. The manager of Caribou Coffee, 3220 Ingersoll Ave., noticed that someone broke into the safe and stole an unknown amount of money. The manager stated that the suspect(s) possibly gained access through the roof hatch. The store had some roof work done over the weekend, and the manager believes that the hatch was not properly shut. The safe’s battery was missing, and the manager stated that the safe opened automatically after removing the battery.

April 14, 8:45 p.m.

Burglary in the 800 block of 41st Street. The victim stated he was upstairs lying in bed when he heard someone walking up the stairs He then saw a figure on the landing. He yelled, “who’s there” and the suspect ran down the stairs. The victim ran after the suspect, but the suspect was already outside the house. The victim was unable to identify if the suspect was male or female. A broken window, valued at $200, was found and thought to be the way the suspect entered and exited the house.

BUSTED

Name: Dennis Glenn Stecker

The story: The suspect, later identified as Dennis Stecker, attempted to cash a check at Dahl’s Foods, 4343 Merle Hay Road. Officers were called in and Stecker admitted that he stole his mother’s checkbook and wrote five checks, valued at $330, to Dahl’s over a period of two days. Copies of the stolen checks were turned in to police, which was the reason officers were called to the scene. Stecker’s checkbook was confiscated, and he was taken to the Polk County Jail and charged with forgery.

DOCKET DIVING

The following item is from a recent ruling made by the Iowa Court of Appeals regarding the case of the State of Iowa vs. David Wayne Pace.

“On Nov. 6, 2005, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Deputy Kent Smock was online in an Internet chat room under the assumed identity of a fifteen-year-old-girl ‘Amber,’ when an individual, later identified as Pace, by the screen name ‘cimarronriver’ began chatting with the officer. Pace asked Amber how old she was, and Amber replied she would be 16 in February. Pace invited Amber to join him for a private chat and asked to see a photograph of her. Deputy Smock sent Pace an age-regressed image of Deputy Sheriff Jane Wagner. Pace informed Amber he was from Oklahoma, but he would be in Iowa soon for a job interview. During the chat, Pace asked Amber if she was sexually active and how old she was when she lost her virginity. Pace said he wanted to meet her and ‘have some fun.’

“Two days later, Deputy Wagner and Pace spoke during the day and finalized their plans. In their final conversation, Pace said he had gotten lost and was at the Lone Star restaurant, and asked if they could meet at the restaurant instead. Soon after, deputies found Pace in a car with an Oklahoma license plate in the Lone Star parking lot and arrested him. Based on this incident, the State charged Pace with enticing away a minor. On Oct. 19, 2006, the jury found Pace guilty as charged. Pace filed a motion for new trial. Pace’s motion were overruled, and the district court sentenced him to serve a term of imprisonment not to exceed five years.

“In this appeal, Pace emphasizes the distinction between the substantive crime of enticing away a minor and the crime of attempted enticement. We agree with Pace that the facts of this case do not support a conviction for enticing away a minor. Because Pace does not dispute that the facts support the conclusion that he attempted to entice away a minor under the age of 16, we vacate the defendant’s conviction and remand with instructions to enter a finding of guilt for the offense of attempted enticement.”

Missing

Name: Benjamin M. Roseland
Age at report: 19
Age now: 19
Weight: 175 lbs.
Height: 5’11”
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Sex: Male
Incident type: Other adult missing

Benjamin Roseland was reported missing to the Clinton Police Department on Feb. 9, 2008. If you have information regarding the disappearance of this individual, please contact the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (800) 346-5507.

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

$1.8 million : The amount of federal money paid to the three CITEC executives over a two-year period.

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