Police seek public’s help

The Marshalltown Police Department is on the lookout for a suspect or suspects who crashed a stolen truck into the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse north side doors early Friday morning.

Capt. Brian Batterson of the MPD said a passer-by reported a truck had crashed into the Roundhouse.

Personnel responded to the scene at approximately 4:15 a.m., discovered the truck, but reported a suspect or suspects were at-large.

“We are still investigating,” said Batterson. “We did confirm the truck was stolen. Part of our work will be viewing tapes from MHS video surveillance cameras.”

It was unclear at press time how much damage was done to the building, which has recenty undergone signigicant remodeling.

“It was an unfortunate incident and we are helping the MPD with their investigation,” said Marshalltown Community School District Communications Director Andrew Potter in an email to the Times-Republican. “We thank local law enforcement for their efforts and our buildings and grounds workers who were on scene promptly. The mess resulting from the damage to the doors has been cleaned and the area is secure, with a full replacement of the doors as soon as possible. The gym remains open for regular use by our athletes.”

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact the MPD, 641-754-5725 or the Marshall County Crime Stoppers. Tips can be submitted by telephone, text message or an Internet website.

The Crime Stoppers phone line is answered at all hours, seven days a week, at 641-753-1234. Calls are answered by Marshall County Communications Center operators.

Text messages can be sent to 247637 (CRIMES). Tips can be submitted online at www.marshallcountycs.com.

Courtesy of the Marshalltown Times-Republican, Mike Donahey, Staff

The sound of chatter could be heard across the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA parking lot Tuesday evening as local law enforcement officers and community members came together to eat food and mingle.

“We’re happy that they Y is a good partner with Crime Stoppers, we’re happy to see the support for local law enforcement,” said Marshalltown Y CEO Carol Hibbs the partnership with Marshall County Crime Stoppers in presenting the community’s first ever “National Night Out.”

The event’s purpose was to bring law enforcement officials and community members together to chat and get to know each other. Along with meeting police officers, visitors got to check out the nearby bike trail that runs near the YMCA-YWCA building.

“I think, for the first year, it was pretty good turnout,” said State Center Police Chief Jeff Bunn. “It’s a good way to get the community together with all the local law enforcement officers and get to understand what we do; it gives us a chance to communicate with them.”

Law enforcement officials from the Marshalltown Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s Office were also among the event’s guests.

Festivities that evening included giving away free Crime Stoppers tee shirts to the first 100 visitors to the event. Water bottles and fresh-cooked hot dogs were also available.

Several families could be seen among the gathered crowd, with small children playing and talking to officers. The only noticeable pause in conversation happened after hotdogs were served and people sat together to eat.

“I think it’s a great event,” said Marshalltown resident Chris Gustafson, who was curious about the Night Out event when she heard about it. “We came to see what it’s about.”

Her 9-year-old son Cole, who sported a silver police badge sticker on his forehead, said he was having a lot of fun.

“One of the successes of Crimestoppers has been the support from various sectors of the community,” Hibbs said. “We have business support and individuals supporting the non-profit organization, it’s really a community effort.”

Bunn said he hopes the event is the beginning of a tradition in the area. He handed out several badge stickers to eager kids and talked to them about being a police officer.

“I’m really happy with it, and hope this kind of thing keeps going and we can keep doing it for years to come,” he said.

National Night Out is a widespread community-building campaign, with events held throughout the United States and Canada, among other places.

Courtesy of the Marshalltown Times-Republican, Adam Sodders, Staff Writer.

“We’re all in this together.” That’s the message from Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper, who understands that whatever efforts his officers make in curbing criminal activity and/or solving crimes, can be greatly enhanced when community members are part of the solution.

It’s also why an upcoming event this week — National Night Out — is the perfect opportunity for fellowship and communication between residents and area law enforcement.

From 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Marshall County Crime Stoppers and the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA will be hosting its first annual National Night Out event at the Marshalltown Y’s parking lot, 108 Washington St.,

Area law enforcement officials will be on hand to interact with community members and answer questions regarding local efforts to combat crime. Community partners and law enforcement will be grilling hot dogs. There will be free T-shirts available for the first 100 attendees ad an area bike trail will also be in use for an informal community walk.

National Night Out is an community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

And let’s be clear — there’s a lot to be proud of here in Marshall County when it comes to law enforcement.

We have tremendous leaders in Tupper, Marshall County Sheriff Steve Hoffman, State Center Police Chief Bunn and Melbourne’s Mike Ball, who lead top-notch agencies in the protection of all our citizens.

And with the recent successes of the Marshall County Crime Stoppers organization, helping to solve a number of crimes with the help of concerned citizens, we’re demonstrating the importance of working together.

“It’s my belief that in any community, everybody has a responsibility … we need to have partnerships with everyone to help combat crime,” Tupper told me.

And Crime Stoppers officials are looking forward to the upcoming event noting that they are “excited to work with community members, business partners and area law enforcement with the goals of enhancing community safety and promoting Marshall County communities as a safe place to live, work and raise a family.”

“We can’t be everywhere at once, we really need the community to help us solve crimes. Crime Stoppers has been a great example of a community partnership,” Tupper added.

So, I’m hopeful that there will be a good turnout Tuesday. Sharing ideas, working together and showcasing the importance of community accountability will demonstrate why those who wish to do harm or ignore the rules of society will not and cannot win if we all stick together.

As a wise sage once told me: “Mano y mano, poco a poco, vamos a ganar.” Hand in hand, little by little, we will win.

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Courtesy of the Marshalltown Times-Republican.
Contact Jeff Hutton at 641-753-6611 or jhutton@timesrepublican.com

This  incident  remains  under  investigation.  If  anyone  in  the  community  has  information regarding  this  investigation,  they  are  asked  to  call  the  Marshalltown  Police  Department  at 641.754.5725 or Marshall County Crime Stoppers at 641.753.1234.

Questions  regarding  this  media  release  may  be  directed  to  Captain  Chris  Jones  by  calling 641.754.5758 or via email at cjones@marshalltown-ia.gov.

(A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.)

Courtesy of the Marshalltown Police Department

 This is a 1966 Ford GT40 Replica. It was reported stolen on July 25. It has possibly been missing since July 21.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
One sticker on the back-Oval sticker, 3 inches in diameter that says CZ with a small flag of the Czech Republic in the center of the sticker.

The windshield has multiple stickers on it from tech inspection-Road America.

Real Spin Off Wheels.

If you have information about this stolen vehicle please contact Marshall County Crime Stoppers. Tips may be submitted by calling (641) 753-1234, via text by texting the word “marshall” followed by the tip to CRIMES (274637), or online at www.marshallcountycs.com. All tips are completely anonymous and could earn a reward of up to $1,000 if the tip results in an arrest.

MARSHALL COUNTY, Iowa — A hefty investment into safety cameras throughout Marshall County could pay off, county leaders and business owners told KCCI.

The roughly $58,000 program is part of the Marshall County Crime Stoppers’ efforts to install security cameras throughout the county, particularly in high-traffic areas, in order to thwart crime and apprehend criminals in the area.

Earlier this week, after the Marshall County Board of Supervisors examined how other Iowa communities use the cameras to solve crimes, it committed $20,000 to Crime Stoppers, a national organization that offers cash rewards for information leading to an arrest or conviction.

That’s in addition to the $20,000 from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and the $20,000 from the Marshalltown City Council.

The local Crime Stoppers board now has to raise $20,000.

Once the money has been raised, Marshalltown-based RACOM Corp. will provide a basic system of cameras throughout the county.

Marshalltown Mayor James Lowrance said his city is already safe and that the cameras will only be used as an investigative tool.

“This was really an effort just to stay up with modern technology and provide our law enforcement officers with the tools that they need to police the community and be prepared for the future,” Lowrance said.

If an incident were reported, police would be able to look back at security camera footage corresponding to the location and zoom in on the license plate to identify the would-be criminal.

It is unclear when county officials will pull the funds together, but they’re hoping the process will go swiftly because many area business owners said they are already on board with the program.