MASON CITY – A drug raid on a house by multiple law enforcement agencies caused nearby Mason City schools to lockdown, and one accused thief was caught in the process.
According to Mason City police, at about 12:45 PM Friday, January 22, the North Iowa Special Operations Group (SOG) executed a search warrant at 542 15th Street SE (owned by Robert Kantaris) without incident. The North Iowa Task Force, Mason City Police Department, and Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office assisted. A Mason City police spokesman tells NIT that no charges have been filed yet and the case is still under investigation. There was no word on if any illegal narcotics were found during the course of the search.
However, during the course of the raid, one wanted female, 28-year-old Shannon Lybarger, was arrested at the scene on an outstanding arrest warrant. Her arrest warrant alleges she committed third-degree theft at the Mason City Target store between January 7 and January 12, 2016. The value of the merchandise was estimated to be approximately $450.00. Because she has prior multiple theft convictions, the charge was enhanced to third-degree theft.
Mason City Police contacted school administration in advance to notify them of the close proximity of the school buildings and to come up with precautionary safety measures for children and staff in this area, the MCPD says.
“I will generalize the multiple precautions taken as a brief ‘soft lockdown’,” the MCPD spokesman explained. “School administrators were very cooperative with law enforcement. School administrators sent out notifications to parents of the school children afterword to ease any concerns that may arise as word spread of the search warrant.”
The Mason City School District put their safety protocol plans into effect – locking down Roosevelt Elementary, Lincoln Intermediate, Operations Garage and Administrative Center Campus at approximately 12:15 PM. The district says it worked “in constant cooperation with the Mason City Police Department” and received notification it was safe to lift the lockdown of these buildings/campus at approximately 1:15 PM.