(Le Mars) — An early morning accident at the Highway 3 and 75 by-pass left one victim injured. The accident happened at about 7:05 a.m. Friday morning. Two vehicles were involved, including a pickup truck, and a Ford Explorer SUV. A female victim was transported to Floyd Valley Healthcare by the Le Mars Ambulance. The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department also responded to the scene. The accident is being investigated by the Le Mars Police Department.
Le Mars Ambulance Issues Quarter Report
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Ambulance Service has issued its quarterly call volume report for the period between September 1st and November 30th. The community ambulance service responded to 254 calls during the three month time span. That
is a decrease of eight calls, or three percent from the same period one year ago. So far, in 2017 the Le Mars Ambulance has had 855 calls from January 1, 2017 until November 30th. Overall call volume has seen a drop in the number of calls by 39 calls, or a 4.4 percent decrease from the previous year.
Local FBI Agent Given National Honor
(Le Mars) –The conclusion of a five-year investigation into a robbery and shooting death of a Sioux City man resulted in several law enforcement officials, including an FBI agent from Plymouth County, to be recognized and given a national honor for their diligence. John Moeller, who resides near
Kingsley, says solving the murder of Tony “T-Bone” Canfield was like putting together a puzzle without having any pieces of that puzzle. Canfield was shot to death on his front lawn in 2011.
Moeller, along with two Sioux City Police Detectives, and a Sheriff’s deputy from South Dakota’s Minnehaha County were recently presented the Group Achievement Award from the Federal Law Enforcement Association. Moeller says it
took some time, but eventually, three people were sentenced to prison for their role in the robbery-murder case.
Moeller says the case was able to be resolved thanks to the assistance of many people from several law enforcement agencies, including the Le Mars Police Department and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office. Moeller says once
individuals were identified as having a role in the robbery and murder, than a timeline was developed.
The FBI agent says once they identified the possible suspects, it was then a process of matching those suspect’s timelines together.
Moeller says he got involved with the investigation of the robbery-murder case because it involved interstate commerce.
Three men were eventually sentenced for the crime. The three were from Sioux City, Georgia, and Florida.
Swan Man Accused Of Using Electric Cattle Prod On Children
SWAN, Iowa (AP) – A man has been accused of using a cattle prod to discipline two children in south-central Iowa. Court records say 36-year-old Travis Coker, of rural Swan in Marion
County, pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of felony child endangerment causing injury. The records don’t show a trial date. Criminal complaints say the girls reported that Coker used the prod to shock them as a “form of discipline.” Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt says the 11- and 13-year-old girls
weren’t doing their chores fast enough on the family farm, so Coker decided to use the prod – a hand-held rod that delivers an electric shock to control livestock. The court records also say Coker and his wife corroborated the girls’ statements.
Teenager Testifies Against Mother In Daughter’s Death
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa teenager testified at his mother’s murder trial that she forced him and his two sisters to sleep on their bedroom floor in their own waste for months and that she refused to feed one sister in the days before she starved to death. The Des Moines Register reports that the 16-year-old told the Polk County jury on Wednesday that his sister Natalie had become too weak to get up to eat, but their mother told her she wouldn’t help her. Nicole Finn was charged with murder, kidnapping and child endangerment after Natalie Finn died in October 2016 at the age of 16. She’s also accused of
abusing the son who testified and her younger daughter. Investigators say they were severely malnourished and living in squalor in the family’s West Des Moines
home. —
Iowa City Men Charged With Violent Home Invasion
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Two Iowa City men have been charged in a violent home invasion in which two men were beaten and a woman sexually assaulted. Television station KGAN reports that 25-year-old Sullivan Smith-Berry and 28-year-old Earl Riley each have been charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and second-degree sexual abuse. Police say the men broke into an Iowa City apartment on Nov. 3 wielding
an assault-style rifle. Investigators say the men beat two other men inside the apartment with the gun, and kicked and stomped on the victims. Police say Smith-Berry also dragged the sister of one of the victims into a bedroom and sexually assaulted her. Officials say Smith-Berry and Riley then left with cash and other property. Attorneys for Smith-Berry and Riley did not immediately return phone messages left Thursday. —
