Mason City man pleads guilty in road rampage incident

MASON CITY – A guilty plea has been entered by a teen who allegedly carjacked and beat up a woman in Mason City earlier this year.

Michael Juwan Jacob Hughes, age 18, has entered a guilty plea connected to a rampage he allegedly took part in on February 3, 2015. Hughes originally pled not guilty to first offense operating while intoxicated and felony second degree theft after his alleged actions on February 3, 2015, when at about 6:00 PM that evening, a hit and run incident was reported to police at 6th Street SW and Monroe Avenue. There were a number occupants in the offending vehicle, but a caller told police that people began to jump out of the car until only Hughes was left inside. What was described as at least two black males ran from the car and were near the Taco Bell restaurant. At least one of them may have went inside, as Hughes continued to flee the area west on 6th Street SW. He drove to Highway 122, headed west and began to blow through traffic lights at a high rate of speed. He rear-ended a stopped vehicle at Highway 122 and Eisenhower Avenue, but the collision disabled his vehicle. Hughes then ran on foot to the Wal-Mart Super Center.

Police said Hughes then approached a woman who was clearing snow from her vehicle, “viciously attacked” her and stole her car. He left the parking lot in that vehicle and drove east on Highway 122. Police were receiving multiple calls from witnesses and victims as this incident occurred. The injured woman went back inside the Wal-Mart store. Her husband was called and eventually, an ambulance.

As he drove, the vehicle somehow became mechanically disabled. Hughes exited the vehicle and began walking along the shoulder of the road. Mason City police and Cerro Gordo deputies converged on the alleged assailant and took him into custody. The Iowa State Patrol was involved in the hunt for Hughes, and Clear Lake police had been warned that a problem could be coming their way.

In total, Hughes faces charges of operating while intoxicated; robbery in the second degree; 2 counts of reckless driving; 2 counts of failure to maintain control; 2 counts of leaving the scene of an accident; 2 count of failure to obey a traffic control device; obstructed view; leaving an unattended vehicle on the highway; failure stop and failure to stop from a private drive before crossing a highway.

Court records do not specify to what charges Hughes is pleading guilty. He will be sentenced June 22.