MASON CITY – Just blocks west of the hallowed Cultural Crescent in Mason City, where gambling dice are perched forever in front of City Hall, life has become a game of chance for some residents and business owners.
“There’s a lot of sketchy activity in these parts,” a resident who lives near the intersection of Monroe Avenue and 1st Street NW said recently. “Lots of rentals, low income people. There’s a whore house over there,” the man said, pointing in the vicinity of the intersection. Minutes later, on a snowy, icy day, a petite woman in a short skirt and black six inch pumps hurried out of the house he pointed at.
A nearby business, Dimensional Graphics, was burglarized on November 24th, 2013. The suspect, Justin Holt, allegedly broke into the Dimensional Graphics Group, located at 325 North Jackson Avenue, and stole some cash out of employees’ desks (less than $50 total), broke into the soda machine, and stole a laptop.
“We got the laptop back,” said owner Adam Gold.
Holt was arrested two days later by Mason City police on the other side of the Cultural Crescent and charged with felony burglary. He is still in jail after his bond reduction appeal was denied Friday. He awaits an arraignment hearing on December 16th.
Police told NIT that documented burglaries in the area were not many, but another area businessman who wished not to be named told NIT that police have been vigilant in patrolling the area, in an attempt to squelch illicit activity.
“I bought a pretty sophisticated video monitoring system,” the man said. “You can see the police drive by every few minutes, through the intersection.
“They know it’s bad,” the man said, pointing to video of a Mason City police squad car rolling through Monroe Avenue and 1st Street NW slowly, with a large, powerful spotlight pointing directly into adjacent rental properties. “People in this one (residence), come and go all day and all night. They show up on foot, on bikes, in cars, come in for 10-15 minutes, then leave. We know what’s going on. We’re sick of it.”
As recently as Friday morning, police arrested a man for sitting in a parked car at a nearby vacant rental property. According to a report, at about 2:00 AM Friday, a Mason City police officer came upon suspicious vehicle parked at the vacant house at the 000 block of North Monroe Avenue. The subject inside the vehicle, Lewy Lee Curtiss, age 43 of Rockwell, was arrested on two counts of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine and a schedule IV substance) and possession of drug paraphernalia and taken to jail. He plead not guilty and was soon released.
In another video taken in late November and shared with NIT, the business owner points to a male walking through a nearby parking lot and then moments later, the video goes dead.
“He pulled the camera down with this,” the business owner said, holding up a metal broom handle with a hook fastened to one end with electrical tape. “Then he went around back and pulled down the other camera.”
Police have no suspects in the theft of the cameras.
“I’d just ask people to keep an eye out,” the business owner said. “If you see anything suspicious, please call police.”