MASON CITY – A man who police once chased through downtown Mason City and was allegedly caught with marijuana, cocaine packaged for sale, and a handgun recently left the Beje Clark halfway house and didn’t return – now he’s held on federal charges.
Mason City police tell NIT that on December 22, 2016, Ryon Marquise Shelton signed out to go to work shortly after 4 AM. However, Shelton did not show up at work. This led to police applying for an “Absence from Custody” warrant that morning at 10 AM. Shelton then came to the MCPD headquarters at 1:32 PM to turn himself in on the warrant.
Police say Shelton, age 25, is on federal probation, and no details were immediately available on the federal charges. He was brought to the county jail and remains held at this time.
Shelton started causing trouble in Mason City back in the summer of 2012. Mason City police were called to the 000 block of South Delaware Ave. shortly before 2 AM Sunday morning, June 17, 2012 on a report of a large crowd gathering outside a business after closing time.
A concerned citizen reported to officers that one of the men in the crowd was armed with a handgun. As officers approached Ryon Marquise Shelton, he tried to run on foot from them.
Police took down Shelton and found the alleged handgun, cocaine packaged consistent for street sale, and marijuana following the chase.
After nearly three hours in police custody, Shelton was booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on one Class C felony count of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, one aggravated misdemeanor count of carrying a dangerous weapon, one serious misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana, and one simple misdemeanor count of interference with official acts.
Law enforcement confirmed at Shelton was not licensed to legally carry the firearm on his person.
Shelton was later indicted on federal charges and the state charges were dropped.
Court records show Ryon Shelton was held by court order from March 2011 to April 2011 on $25,000 bond as a material witness in a Cedar Rapids murder case in which a man was killed in a robbery following a botched drug deal. Read more about that case here.
Many online archives report Ryon Shelton attempted to pull a BB gun on two undercover Cedar Rapids police officers on Halloween 2006 when he was still a juvenile. Most accounts say the officers followed protocol and pulled their service firearms in return causing Shelton to drop his toy gun and attempt to again flee law enforcement on foot. When he was captured Shelton told officers he was “just playing around” and trying to scare people. “He was cited for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and released to relatives, police said.”
