MASON CITY – A man supposed to be serving time in the Beje Clark Halfway house and wanted on an arrest warrant was caught walking the streets of Mason City this weekend.
A Mason City police officer spotted 21-year-old Joshua Lawrence Engstler (formerly of Garner) walking at the 2000 block of South Taft Avenue Friday night, February 17 at about 10:34 PM. The officer arrested Engstler on an arrest warrant in connection to a 2014 crime he committed in Clear Lake, in which Engstler was accused of felony second degree theft, unlawful consuming of alcohol, reckless use of a watercraft, operating without an owner’s consent, interference with official acts and boating under the influence. Engstler later worked out a lea deal and got mostly suspended sentences in the case along with probation; however, he has now been accused of violating his probation three times, landing him in the Beje Clark Halfway house last summer. He’s now accused of misdemeanor escape from custody.
Engstler was arrested and taken to jail. He remains there awaiting a hearing and could face his suspended prison sentence if a judge decides to invoke that punishment.
