RAP SHEET

Operator: 911 . . .

Caller: I have a fire here. It's on Northeast 48th Street. I just woke up out of bed and the back of my house was on fire.
O: Everybody out?
C: Yeah.
O: Is there anything close to the house that could catch on fire?
C: No. Just my car. But it's in the back. The back of the house is on fire.
O: Can you see flames?
C: Yeah. It's bad.
O: There's no one else in the house, correct?
C: No. My roommate's gone, so I don't know what's going on. I just woke up, thankfully, in time.
O: Are there any other houses close to yours that could catch on fire?
C: No, not right now. But they better hurry. It looks like it was my roommate's grill. He was grilling out on the deck. The siding's on fire right now. I'm moving my car away from there.
O: OK, are you able to get to it without getting close to the fire?
C: Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't want it to be anywhere close to it right now.
O: We have the sheriff's office heading that way too, so...
C: [To someone at the scene] I don't know what happened. I just woke up, thankfully. I don't know what happened, Joe. You must have left the grill on, dude.
O: Where's the grill at?
C: The grill's on the back patio. I just woke up, thankfully, in time. I smelled smoke and went out in the street.
O: Where are the flames at now?
C: The back side of the house. They're starting to get into a tree now, though... [to someone at the scene] Joe, come here, buddy. It'll be fine. It's just the back and side of the house. It's fine, OK? I must have left the grill on, dude, that's all I can think of... I just woke up, man, and I, I heard a beep and went to the bathroom and there's all this smoke and I just got out of the house as fast as I could and I saw that and I dialed 9-1-1...
O: Is there a deputy out with you, now?
C: Yeah, he's right here with me.
O: OK, I'm going to cut you loose then.
C: Alright.

Officer's Report: Dispatched to Northeast 48th Street in reference to a house that was on fire. As I arrived, I could see flames shooting into the air from the rear of the residence, which was the west side of the house. Fire personnel responded and extinguished the fire. However, the residence just north of the house fire was damaged from the heat of the fire. The south side of the garage had all its vinyl siding melted off and the white plastic fence surrounding the residence had approximately 25 panels damaged. The homeowner of the house, Joseph, stated he believes the fire was started due to his charcoal grill being placed next to the house before it was fully extinguished. The fire could also have been started by the grill being left on the wood deck and then left unattended.

Docket Diving

Donald Arndt just wanted his guns back.
In May 2001, Arndt was arrested on charges of public intoxication, and when police searched his home, they found one small baggie of marijuana and a
"significant weapons collection." Items in Arndt's diverse arsenal were scattered throughout the house, but most troubling was the discovery of "guns and ammunition, swords, a bayonet and a crossbow" in the room of his 8-year-old daughter. None of the weapons were loaded, but the cache was seized by authorities and, along with disorderly conduct, public intoxication and possession of marijuana, Arndt was charged with child endangerment.

Having accepted a plea agreement with the state, Arndt's criminal charges were resolved through fines and deferred judgment, and the child-endangerment charge was dismissed pending proceedings in juvenile court addressing his daughter's care. So, the one snag was the fate of the seized weapons. According to Arndt's interpretation, the court ordered that his collection be "held" by the state only until the juvenile proceedings were completed. But, even after the juvenile court
decided Arndt was free to recover his weapons as long as they weren't kept in the same home as his daughter, the state wouldn't relinquish them to Arndt. So three years later, Arndt once again went before the district court. This time, the judge set the record straight, ruling the state had followed standard forfeiture procedure and, based on Arndt's history of drug abuse, he wasn't allowed to be packing heat
anyway ("Arndt was seriously mentally impaired due to methamphetamine and cocaine use, which caused him to become psychotic").

But while the district ruled that Arndt was barred from possessing any firearms or ammunition, a higher court shot the district down. On appeal, Arndt argued that the district had clearly stated that his property would be returned and, by failing to make good on that promise, the state was violating his plea agreement. The appeals court panel decided he was right on target: "We agree that Arndt's position that the intent of the plea agreement was that the weapons would be held by the state for safekeeping and were to be released to Arndt following satisfactory disposition of the juvenile court proceedings. The record evidence supports this." So, last week, the court of appeals reversed the district's ruling, triggering a release of the weapons
collection to its owner.

Renters Beware

Landlord: Terri and Robert Munford
Address: 2444 E. Walnut
Violations: Holes and water damage to the ceiling, exterior siding in poor repair, fire detectors needing replacement, improperly installed door locks, broken steps on an interior stairway
Action: The Munfords' 30-day extension to make repairs expires this week.

Sucks to be you

Name: Jacqueline Trenise Goodman
Place of Incident: Des Moines
Posed for this picture because: Accused of trying to cash in on other's misfortune, Jacqueline Goodman was arrested last week for allegedly posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim and taking $1,800 from the Central Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross. While the 26-year-old allegedly took on a false last name and claimed to have fled New Orleans when the catastrophe hit, it was quickly determined that she was living in Des Moines, not the Gulf, and was arrested on charges of second-degree theft and booked into Polk County Jail on $9,750 bond.

Unfinished Business

The following landlords owe the city for outstanding fees associated with persistent rental code violations:

- Lamont Lovelady owes $11,192 for previous violations at 1100 Forest Ave. and 1342 11th St., due May 22 and July 22.
- Donald and Cindy Graves owe $5,697 for previous violations at 1315 Ascension St., due Aug. 25.
- Michael Schumacher owes $3,180 for previous violations at 1536 30th St., due July 22.
- Edward Moss owes $1,638 for previous violations at 1620 Franklin Ave., due Aug. 11.
- Jon Murrell owes $1,040 for previous violations at 1534 Woodland Ave., due June 20, 2004.

On the Clock

Des Moines Police - Sept. 28

12:15 a.m. Assault with injury in the 3900 block of East 23rd Street involving a woman who needed to cool off after an argument with a boyfriend and, while walking around her apartment building, was
confronted by a suspect who told her to meet her in the picnic area behind the building, and was subsequently assaulted by three suspects who kicked her multiple times until her boyfriend interrupted them and they fled on foot.
2:45 a.m. Assault with serious injury in the 100 block of Grand Avenue involving a man jumped by four or five males wearing dark clothing near the downtown YMCA.
5:09 a.m. Assault in the 3600 block of Bowdoin involving a man who was
carrying some items into his house when a suspect he does not know very well, but with whom he is acquainted, "came out of nowhere and punched him in the mouth with a closed fist and took off northbound on foot."
10 a.m. Assault in the 1900 block of Carpenter involving a female minor who had been sent to jail the day before due to an altercation at Oakridge and, the following day was allegedly assaulted by the
victim with a foot-long stick while she was exiting a car at Polk County Social Services.
12:25 p.m. Simple assault and disorderly conduct at North High School involving a male student who "got belligerent and
agitated" when a teacher told him three times to put his cell phone away and, when the teacher took it from him, "flipped out... got verbally abusive towards her, demanding his cell phone back and, while cursing her, told her he was going to get violent and then he pushed her."
2:45 p.m. Undeclared firearm at 5800 Fleur involving Transportation Security Administration discovering an undeclared firearm in a bag at the Des Moines International Airport. The gun was unloaded, but was not in a secure case or lock box. Suspect was not wanted and given the option to reschedule his flight after securing the firearm in his vehicle.

(Alleged) Drunk Drivers

Name: Julianne Michelle West
Arrested: Sept. 27
First offense

Name: Jason James Nash
Arrested: Sept. 28
First offense

Name: Timothy Shawn Hanrahan
Arrested: Sept. 28
Third offense

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