Steve King Disappointed With Decision Allowing Assailant Given Two Years Probation
(Sioux City) — A Colorado man who threw a cup of water on Iowa Congressman Steve King has been sentenced to two years of probation.
27-year-old Blake Gibbins, of Lafayette, Colorado, had pleaded
guilty to misdemeanor assault on a member of Congress.
King says he was sitting at a table in a Fort Dodge restaurant with the town’s mayor and other officials on March 22nd of 2019 when he was approached by Gibbins:
Gibbins admitted he threw the water at King.
He was also sentenced in U.S. District Court to do 200 hours of
community service in the first year of his two year probation.
King says he is disappointed with the sentence and says attacks
against members of congress should be met with harsher punishment:
King says he would have preferred a public apology and some jail time against his assailant.
Instead, he says Gibbins received money after the assault from well wishers, money King believes should be donated to charity:
Gibbins’ attorney said Gibbins’ actions were out of character and
may have resulted from recent emotional pressure.
He was in Iowa for a family funeral when he approached King, and Gibbins had no criminal history.
Akron Man Arrested For Warrants On Child Endangerment And Assault
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office has arrested Richard D. Tripp, age 66, of Akron. The arrest was made on Thursday, March 5th for two active warrants. Those warrants were for child endangerment and assault. Tripp was booked into the Plymouth County Jail and is being held on bond.
Double Fatality Reported Near Spencer
SPENCER, Iowa (AP) – A northwest Iowa collision with a semitrailer has fatally injured two people in a pickup truck. The crash occurred a little before 1:30 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 71 on the north end of Spencer. Authorities say the northbound pickup halted at a stop sign and then turned left into the path of the southbound semi. The couple in the pickup have been identified as 85-year-old Patricia Juber and 86-year-old Harvey Juber. They lived in Melvin. The semi driver and his passenger weren’t injured.
Murder For Hire Inmate Dies In Prison
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Johnson County officials says a man serving more than 80 years for two separate murder-for-hire plots died of natural causes.
Clayton Schuneman with the county medical examiner’s office told The Gazette that Justin Dewitt died of a heart disease on Feb. 7. Dewitt was sentenced to 35 years in prison for a murder-for-hire scheme in which he sought to have someone kill his business associate, the associate’s wife and their two
children. In 2019 Dewitt was sentenced to 50 years for trying to organize from behind bars the killings of witnesses in his first case so they couldn’t testify against him.
Drunk Hunter Waiting For Sentencing After Shooting Woman
OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man is awaiting sentencing for drunkenly firing a rifle and wounding a woman inside her home instead of a deer he’d hoped to kill. Court records say 35-year-old Lee Ryals pleaded guilty Wednesday. Authorities say the 73-year-old woman was cleaning her stove on Jan. 4 last year near Ottumwa when she heard a loud noise and felt pain in
the back of her head. She drove herself to a hospital, where doctors removed a bullet. Authorities say Ryals was drunk when he pulled the trigger on the deck of a camper where he’d been staying. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29.
Cedar Rapids Police Identify Man Stabbed To Death
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Police have identified a man stabbed to death earlier this week in Cedar Rapids. Police say in a news release 35-year-old Tremaine Williams died in the early Wednesday morning stabbing. Police arrested 36-year-old Jacqueline Marie Holmes that same morning at the home
where Williams was found with a stab wound to his upper torso. Williams was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Police say an investigation showed that Holmes, who was in a relationship with Williams, stabbed him with a knife.
Holmes has been charged with first-degree murder in the case.
