RAP SHEET

Operator: 911 . . .

Caller: Hey, this is Lee over at Caporales on Sixth Avenue.
O: Uh-huh.
C: We just had a guy bust out a window, steal something out of a car and he left southbound on Sixth Avenue in a dark-colored Camry. There are three Latino gentleman in the car. [To female on the scene:] He busted out the window, honey, I'm calling the cops right now. [To dispatcher:] I've got the owner of the car here.
O: Do you know what was taken out of there?
C: [To female on the scene:] Can you check the car and see if anything was taken out of it?... All of her CDs... Busted the driver's side, or, no, the passenger-side front window. It's a four-door car that he busted into. It's sitting here. It's a red, uh, Dodge Stratus. He had a dark-colored, four-door Camry. [Female: "No, it's a Dodge Stratus"] No, not your car, the car they had left in.
O: What's your name, sir?
C: What's my name?
O: Uh-huh.
C: Lee.
O: Alright, buddy. We'll get somebody out there for you.
C: Thank you.
O: Uh-huh.

Officer's Report: Dispatched to Los Caporales on Northwest Sixth Avenue on a burglary to a vehicle. When I arrived, I talked to Crissy, who told me that she had picked up three Hispanic males and taken them to Los Caporales because they asked her for a ride. Once at the bar, Crissy said she did not have anything to do with them. Then around 0035 hours she was told by security that someone had broken into her car. She went outside and found that the front passenger's window was broken out and her CDs were missing. Crissy felt sure that it was one of the three males she had given a ride to. As I was getting her information, Juan walked up to us. Crissy told me that Juan was one of the guys she gave a ride to. I asked Juan if he had any ID on him. Juan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a CD that Crissy said was hers. Juan then put that CD back into his pocket and reached into his front right pants pocket and pulled out a cassette that Crissy also identified as hers. At this point, Juan was placed into custody. I then searched Juan and found two cassettes, five CDs and a pink address book that belonged to Crissy. Also I found some glass from the window in Juan's pockets. The stolen items were returned to Crissy who told me that she was still missing four CDs. Juan was transported to Polk County Jail without any problems and charged with burglary 3rd.

Docket Diving

The Iowa Supreme Court kicked a local lawyer to the curb for two years to keep him from giving his entire profession a black eye.

Having graduated from Drake University more than a decade ago, Ronald Sotak worked on the public's behalf as a prosecutor for the Story County Attorney's Office and even spent a short time as an Assistant Iowa Attorney General before he started working at the private Newbrough law firm in Ames in 1997. Four years later, however, when Sotak decided to move to the Zarley law firm in Des Moines, he allegedly left behind some of his professional credibility, and, in November 2004, the Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct began investigating allegations of keeping his clients in the dark and then lying about it when his lapses came to light.

First, there was the case of Jon Wheeler, who hired Sotak to represent him in workers' compensation and product liability claims arising from the death of his wife. Though the suit was dismissed thanks to Sotak's failure to properly prosecute the case, he "falsely stated he had filed the original notice and petition with the workers'

compensation commissioner and had talked with a judge about the case," instead of confessing the disappointing outcome. Sotak also misrepresented legal proceedings to American Built Inc. when they hired him to deal with some mechanic's liens, indicating the suit was "progressing satisfactorily and settlement negotiations were underway," when, in fact, the whole case had been tossed due to Sotak's lack of action.

Then there were several instances in which Sotak did properly prosecute cases, but left his client out of the legal loop. In the instance of United Fire and Casualty Company, Sotak dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, but neither conferred with his client in coming to that decision nor alert them of the outcome when the case had been closed. Such lack of communication also short-changed Jacqueline Stroo, who hired Sotak to pursue a claim regarding a car accident. Not only did he settle and dismiss her case without her consent, but also "received two checks from the opposing party's insurance company and placed them in Stroo's case file, but he never informed Stroo of their existence." Not to mention, in all the allegedly bungled cases, Sotak never informed his clients that, when he moved from the Ames to Des Moines law firm, they needed to hire a new attorney.

With Sotak having already corroborated all the factual underpinnings and admitted the ethical violations earlier this year, the Iowa Supreme Court wasn't shy about reprimanding the former state prosecutor late last month. Sotak had clearly "committed neglect on numerous occasions," Justice Michael Streit explained, illustrating a "consistent failure to perform his assumed obligations." Making matters far worse, he misrepresented those failures. "The practice of law simply cannot have people engaged in it who lie to their clients," Justice Streit noted. "It is our obligation to ensure the citizenry can hire a lawyer that they trust and have reason to trust." As such, the Court doled out a stern punishment, suspending Sotak's license for no fewer than two years.

Sucks to be you

Name: Bryant Daniel Cook
Place of Incident: South Side
Posed for this picture because: For a typical employee, being MIA on a work day might be shrugged off as a miscommunication. But when it's 2 p.m. and a convicted murderer hasn't shown up for his shift, it's cause for a few hours of panic. After a dozen years behind bars for shooting his father in the head at pointblank range, Bryant Cook had been on work release since May but apparently decided to clock out of corrections supervision last week, evading officials for hours before police spotted him at a stop sign with his girlfriend. Arrested on charges of work release violation and escape from custody, Cook could be headed back to prison for his brief stint as a fugitive.

Unfinished Business

According to the Department of Natural Resources November report the following fees are significantly past due and have been referred to the Attorney General:

- Doug Smuck and Relative Inc. of Des Moines owe $3,670 for underground storage tank violations, due Oct. 10, 1994
- Edward Bodensteiner of Des Moines owes $3,200 for underground storage tank violations, due March 31, 1996
- Robert Jeff White of Dallas County owes $10,000 for solid waste and air quality violations, due July 14, 1997
- Ray Stamper and Bryan Zenor of Polk County owe $2,000 for solid waste violations due Dec. 12, 1998
- Jeff Phillips of Story County owes $1,800 for waste water violations due March 6, 1999

On the Clock

Des Moines Police- Nov. 22

12:05 a.m. Assault in the 1500 block of Southeast Army Post Road, involving two victims who stated that a male suspect approached them and asked if they had a problem, then proceeded to punch one victim with a closed fist, knocking him out, and hit the other victim with a beer glass.
7:11 a.m. Burglary in the 2600 block of Cottage Grove, involving a female victim who returned home to discover numerous empty cans of Pepsi Cola strewn about her residence, as well as the theft of all frozen meats and pizzas from her freezer.
1 p.m. Burglary in the 1400 block of East 17th Street, involving a woman who had met a male suspect in passing and later awoke from a nap in her bedroom to discover the male suspect next to her bed asking "'Will you give me some head?' She told him, 'no' and got out of bed. The suspect walked out of the room towards the front door. She told him to leave, which he did. Once outside, he turned and asked her again. She closed and locked the door." The next day the suspect again knocked on her door. The victim emphasized that the suspect was never invited in or given permission to enter the residence.
2:58 p.m. Burglary in the 1600 block of Eighth Street, involving a victim whose residence had been broken into four times in the recent past spurring the installation of security cameras, which captured images of a female suspect carrying electronics out of his sister's apartment.
3:57 p.m. Assault causing injury in the 2500 block of Southwest County Line, involving a male victim who was assaulted by the brother of his ex-wife and another male, who arrived at his residence demanding money, and when the victim refused, pulled him into the bathroom and punched him repeatedly until he lost consciousness. The two suspects left several beer bottles behind when they left.

(Alleged) Drunk Drivers

Name: Manuel Danilo Ontiveros
Arrested: Nov. 19
Second offense

Name: Michael Todd Jessen
Arrested: Nov. 20
Second offense

Name: Nancy Darlene Corona
Arrested: Nov. 21
First offense

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