MASON CITY – A Mason City woman convicted twice this year of drunk driving – once with children in the car – and later showed up drunk to court is back behind bars.
Belinda Lynn Cowell, age 35, appeared in a Mason City courtroom on September 26 and was promptly arrested for consumption of alcohol in public place. She pled guilty the next day and was sentenced to a day in jail.
Cowell was arrested again by Mason City police in November for public intoxication. She has been on probation this year in connection to two drunk driving convictions – one in Chickasaw county and one here in Cerro Gordo county in which a child was a passenger in her vehicle.
Cowell was driving at least 21 miles per hour over the speed limit in a 55 mile per hour zone in Clear Lake back on March 4, 2016. Cowell, who has a suspended driver’s license, had at least one child in her car as she was pulled over. As the Clear Lake police investigated during the traffic stop, Cowell was found to be intoxicated and arrested. She was charged with second offense operating while intoxicated, speeding, child endangerment, driving under suspension, and failure to secure a child. She was later found guilty of second-offense operating while intoxicated and child endangerment as the other charges were dismissed. She was given a suspended 2 year prison sentence, 7 days in jail, 2 years of probation and ordered to pay $2,785.25 in fines and court fees. Records show she has made $0 in payments on this balance.
Cowell was caught drunk driving in August of 2015 by Nashua, Iowa police. She pled guilty after numerous court delays in January of 2016 and lost her license to drive. She was also ordered to pay $1,797.50 in fines and court fees and was given a 60 day jail sentence, with 58 days suspended, along with a year of self-probation.
Cowell now stands accused of violating her probation in connection to her drunk driving and child endangerment conviction in Cerro Gordo county. She was brought to jail Tuesday evening December 27 and is being held on $2,000 bond. She awaits a hearing on January 30, 2017.
This one needs help and needs it bad before she kills someone.
She is a dumb drunk kid. Not a woman an 35 year old kid who is going to kill either her kid or kids our someone else’s kids if the courts don’t lock her up and take her kids away from her. The kids are being abused. Someone please take her car and kids so she can’t kill them.
She had two children in the car with her, and there grandmother. Only one of the children still live with her…of course that was before she was put in prison for a month again and lost her home. This is the first time i got the courage to actually look this up…i’m so glad my little sister and brother didnt get hurt.
I cant remember how i made this comment but i want it deleted it was immature and i don’t want it tied to my name when i’m looked up