Three probation violations send MC man to prison; owes courts nearly $225K

MASON CITY – A Mason City man has been sent to prison for up to 5 years after three probation violations in connection with a drunken flee from the Iowa State Patrol.

Travis Bailey, age 45, was chased by the Iowa State Patrol on December 6, 2012. After he was finally stopped, officers determined that Bailey was drunk and in possession of meth.

After a year of legal bargaining, a plea deal was reached, and in typical North Iowa justice, a judge went easy on Bailey, dismissing the second offense drunk driving charge and a charge of driving without a license. He pled guilty to felony D eluding and drug possession and was given a suspended 5 year prison sentence, 3 years of probation, and was sent to a residential treatment facility for 6 months. In addition, Bailey was assessed $224,736.41 (nearly a quarter million dollars) in fines, costs, fees and restitution in this case. He has since paid the balance down to $100,000 remaining.

However, Bailey was found guilty of violating his probation in 2013 for incidents on April 3, May 28 and – the final straw – August 5. That incident came to a head on September 17 when judge Annette Boehlje imposed the original 5 year prison sentence and afire of $750.

Bailey is now in the Cerro Gordo County Jail, awaiting a trip to prison. He is also awaiting an October jury trial on a marijuana possession charge.

In July, an apartment house owned by Bailey at 417 2nd Street NW caught on fire and two Mason City firefighters were injured in the blaze. Faulty wiring was blamed for the fire.

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