ROCKWELL, IOWA – A convicted domestic abuser accused of a heinous crime against a woman will now stand trial in March.
On October 7, 2016 the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a 36 year-old female who was at the Dollar General Store in Sheffield, Iowa. The female stated she had been beaten and kidnapped by a male subject. This incident started in Meservey, Iowa and the victim was transported, by the male, to the Sheffield area.
The Sheffield Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call. The male subject left the area prior to their arrival. The sheriff’s office conducted an investigation and filed a charge of Willful Injury (Class C Felony) against the subject, Charles Raymond Albright, age 41, who claims via social media to live in Meservey and to be a “misunderstood nice guy who’s sick of finishing last”. They were unable to locate Albright following the incident.
The Franklin County Attorney requested assistance from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa Division of Criminal investigation (DCI) on October 18, 2016. The DCI assisted with the investigation including additional interviews and search warrants and locating the suspect.
On October 19, 2016 investigators located Charles Albright at 11446 Killdeer Avenue, in rural Rockwell, Iowa. Albright was taken into custody without incident on the warrant for his Willful Injury charge. Allegedly, during the October 7, 2016 ordeal which dragged on for hours, Albright struck his 36-year-old female victim, allowed his dog to attack and bite her, shocked her with a stun gun, and more. The DCI has also charged Charles Albright with Kidnapping in the First Degree (Class A Felony)
Albright was transported to the Franklin County Jail in Hampton and is now in the Bremer county jail, located in Waverly.
Agencies that assisted in this joint investigation include Sheffield Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, Mason City Police Department, Clear Lake Police Department, Iowa Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, Franklin County Attorney’s Office, Cerro Gordo County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Area Prosecutions Division.
Court records show Abright was convicted of second-offense domestic abuse assault in Worth county in 2003 and later sent to an Iowa prison for his crime in 2004 after he violated his probation.
Albright has entered a not-guilty plea. He was set to face a January 24 non-jury trial. However, his jury trial has been postponed to March 21. A pre-trial conference (possible plea deal) is set for March 6.
