RAP SHEET

Operator: 911 . . .

O: What is the location of your emergency?
Caller: Sixth Avenue.
O: What's going on there?
C: Uh, I'm security here and we have a Latino woman who started a fight in the parking lot and then she ran...
O: OK, were there any weapons?
C: No, no, it was just a fist fight. She left the scene, headed south on Sixth Avenue in a white car, it's a white Nissan, four-door car. She ran me over in the car. The door is dented in the opposite direction. Her driver-side door. And when she drove out of here she backed into another car.
O: OK, what direction on... ?
C: She's headed south. Headed south on Sixth. It's a white Nissan. I don't know the particular model, but it's a four-door. There's two females in this car. That's it.
O: OK, so it's a Nissan, four-door, white in color, ran you over, dented the driver-side door, correct? Left southbound on Sixth. This just happened, right?
C: Yeah, just happened. She hit me and another one of our security guys.
O: Do you need an ambulance?
C: [To someone at the scene] Hey, do you need an ambulance? No, no.
O: Are you sure? We can send somebody over there to check him out? Are you sure?
C: Dude, do you want me to have them come over to check you out, or... ?
O: OK, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to make the call here since he's undecided, and better safe than sorry.
C: OK.
O: Hold on just a second here while I'm working on this. And they're right down the street so it's not like they have a long trip to make.
C: Right.
O: OK, hold on.
C: Appreciate it [sirens at the scene]. I'm on the line with dispatch right now [to someone at the scene].
O: OK, I'll let you go then.
C: Appreciate it.
O: Bye.

Officer's Report: I was dispatched to Los Caparales in reference to a fight and a vehicle - a white Nissan Maxima - attempting to run over one of the bouncers. The bouncer, James, was attempting to stop a female subject known as Isamara (unknown address and no phone) who had just been involved in a fight with a number of other female patrons. James attempted to grab the door before the female driver shut the door, but he got caught in the window and was pulled with it as she left, resulting in abrasions, swelling and shoulder pain. The vehicle driver also backed into a Chevy pick-up truck and left in a southernly direction on N.W. Sixth. A search of the area failed to turn up the suspect's vehicle. James was checked out by Saylor Rescue and drove himself to Broadlawns for a check-up. Charges will be pending as soon as a positive ID can be made on the female driver.

DOCKET DIVING

Stuffed inside a pair of white, size-11 Reebok basketball shoes police found a quarter pound of marijuana. Wearing a similar pair of shoes was John Facundo.

Earlier in the evening of April 15, 2004, Des Moines police officers had become suspicious of Facundo as they observed the Des Moines resident moving between two parked cars at a First Street duplex. When the pair of vehicles left the residence, the police followed and, when they pulled the duo over for running a red light, they discovered more than 100 grams of marijuana stuffed inside a pair of Reeboks in the trunk. And according to the police, once they searched the basement of the earlier-observed duplex, they found marijuana tucked into a number of nooks and crannies: a pill bottle, a Reebok shoebox, a pair of K-Swiss shoes, two Tupperware containers, four plastic packing shells and small plastic bags hidden among stuffed toys in a playpen. Adding to the marijuana, police also discovered a baggie of psilocybin mushrooms wrapped in a towel, and based on evidence linking Facundo to the residence, charged him with a handful of drug violations.

A Polk County jury acquitted Facundo of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, but found him guilty of possession of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms. But, arguing the state had insufficient evidence to tie him to the basement booty, Facundo took his case to the Court of Appeals. Because the drugs were not found on Facundo's person, it was up to the state to prove he had "constructive possession" of the drugs. The marijuana in the car trunk, the judges observed, was a relatively open and shut case: the car was titled to Facundo, police watched him access and lock the truck earlier in the evening and the drug-containing shoes were similar to the ones on Facundo's feet. But the basement was a different story. Yes, the defendant's car title confirmed that he lived in the same duplex, the judges noted, but not in the same unit, and, yes, there was a Western Union money transfer with his name on it upstairs, but the address was wrong. In addition, Facundo wasn't present when the drugs were discovered, his fingerprints weren't on any of the controlled substance, and basing the connection solely on the presence of more Reebok shoes, the judges decided, didn't meet legal muster.

But while the panel wasn't impressed -"the state's case is not particularly strong" - they didn't let Facundo off the hook entirely. The drugs discovered in the basement could not be proven to be in Facundo's possession, they decided, so the psilocybin mushrooms convictions were reversed. But, due to the 112 grams found in the trunk of the Caprice, the marijuana conviction was upheld.

RENTERS BEWARE

Landlord: Robert and Peggy Du Pre
Address: 4613 S.E. Third Court
Violations: Unsanitary fireplaces, improperly installed light fixtures, hole in kitchen wall, section of living room floor "not provided," deteriorating roof, and lack of electrical covers and smoke detectors
Action: Despite reservations from the inspector and board members about a lack of landlord cooperation, the Housing Appeals Board voted this month to suspend the more than $5,000 penalty fee and grant a 30 days extension for repairs.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

According to the City of Des Moines' Sept. report, the following owe $250 for private alarm monitoring by the fire department due Aug. 16.

- Bank of America Building
- Capital Square
- Iowa State Capitol Building
- Marriott Hotel
- Plaza Residential Condo Association
- Two Ruan Center
- Savery Hotel
- Wells Fargo
- Grandview College
- ING-Equitable of Iowa
- KCCI Television

ON THE CLOCK

Des Moines Police - Sept. 14

12:11 a.m. Arson in the 2700 block of 61st Street, involving a neighbor observing a trash can set on fire next to the garage of an adjacent home and, after the burning receptacle was extinguished, the owners discovering that the door to the garage was ajar.
2:07 a.m. Burglary in the 4200 block of S.E. Seventh Avenue, involving a man hearing the doorbell of his residence ring, commotion in an adjacent bedroom and discovery of the theft of a safe (that owners reported they did not even know how to open and contained nothing of value in it).
3:30 a.m. Arson in the 2700 block of 61st Street, involving the owners of the home of the earlier trashcan fire awaking to the smell of smoke several hours later and discovering a fire in the enclosed front porch area.
7:08 a.m. Burglary at a construction site in the 6800 block of Sweetwater Drive, involving a trailer broken into and the theft of a variety of tools.
7:50 a.m. Burglary in the 6000 block of S.E. 14th Street, involving a shed door opened and the theft of an air compressor and heat lamps.
8:45 a.m. Burglary in the 1600 block of Dean, involving a witness observing an unknown man with a bag leaving a neighbor's home, jumping a fence, attempting to enter another home and later being apprehended by police after leaving the scene in a Blazer.
8:50 a.m. Assault in the 1600 block of 11th Street, involving a man accusing a previous girlfriend of ignoring him and subsequently attacking her, choking her around the neck.
10:50 a.m. Burglary at Smokey's BBQ on S.W. Ninth Street, involving a north door found open, two video games broken into and the theft of cash and cash boxes.
11 a.m. Disorderly conduct at North High School, involving punches thrown between two females, sparked when one stepped on the shoe of the other who then acted like she was going to trip her.
12:32 p.m. Burglary in the 900 block of 38th Street, involving a home entered through the garage and ransacked, although no items were immediately identified as missing.

ALLEGED DRUNK DRIVERS

Name: Roy Clifford Hodges
Arrested: Sept. 14
First offense

Name: Lowell Michael Walker
Arrested: Sept. 14
Second offense

Name: Robert David Marquis
Arrested: Sept. 14
Third offense

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