Editorial by Matt Marquardt –
With the perceived rise in crime in the Mason City and North Iowa area, it has become a noticeable trend that many criminals see little, if any, jail time and many times are back on the streets within days and sometimes hours after major offenses.
For example, one NIT reader continually asks about a certain Mason City man who fired a gun into a moving car at a north end business recently. The suspect has a long criminal record and was back on the streets quickly, and according to witnesses is still there.
Another NIT reader I met with this weekend explained to me about a sexual assault that took place in June, where a man came out of the shadows near downtown and abducted and raped his daughter. I am told that our county attorney is struggling to bring charges against the man, who has a startling criminal record, despite a rape test that was given at Mercy Hospital within a couple hours of the assault, a positive ID, and photos that were taken of the woman’s injuries. I am told the man has more than one victim in the area. He is walking the streets at this time.
It seems evident from my observations that the local police forces are working hard to clean the garbage off the streets. In fact, they have expressed frustration to me that as they clear the trash, it ends up right back in front of them.
On the other hand, NIT published a story yesterday about an assault at a local bar this weekend, where a woman was hit with a beer bottle and took an ambulance ride to Mercy Hosptial. Despite positive ID of a suspect by several witnesses, and possible video evidence, no warrant has yet been issued for the suspect, who fled the scene. She is only wanted for questioning. Are police responsible for pursuing this matter?
It also appears to me that many criminals charged with serious crimes with long histories of breaking the law may seem empowered to do so because the charges are many times plead down to lesser offenses. I am not a legal expert, but the question that begs to be answered, is “why doesn’t the county attorney pursue the tougher charges instead of pursuing a deal?” The Cerro Gordo County Attorney is Carlyle D. Dalen.
Further up the food chain, the judges may be part of the problem as well. Many bloggers point to certain judges that “let them go” on technicalities or easy sentences. Judge Colleen D. Weiland, serving District 2A in Mason City, is a frequent topic of discussion in many forums. Again, I am not a legal expert, but are the judges required to accept “deals” or “plea bargains” that a county attorney and a defense attorney put together? Can a judge step in and say “I will not accept this plea bargain?” Learn more about District 2A judges, serving the Mason City and North Iowa area, here. Read about their “independence and accountability” here.
Lastly, are the prisons just too full? Is the system overloaded? Is the county attorney just too busy to pursue and prosecute to the full extent of the law? Does he have adequate resources?
What will it take to clean up the crime and get the criminals off the streets?
