Mason City porch pirate invades home, terrorizes man and child

MASON CITY – This convicted Mason City porch pirate apparently escalated her criminal activity, this time she invaded a man’s apartment where he napped with a small child and shook the victim senseless, demanded cash, and then snuck into in a nearby garage to hide from responding cops, who were forced to root her out and endure her brutality.

NIT earlier reported that at on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 48-year-old Antonia Rios Pearce of Mason City had stolen a package off a porch in town, was drunk, had three kids in her car, and was nabbed by police.  After that fiasco played out in court, she was charged with a swath of crimes and on August 5, 2025, she was sentenced for second-offense operating while intoxicated, and three counts of child endangerment (one count was suspended in a plea deal).  Her sentence consisted of 7 days in jail, 365 days in jail suspended, 1 year of probation, and a bill owed to Iowa courts for $2,156.25.

Only four days after her sentencing in that case, Pearce allegedly got herself loaded on a substance, and on August 9 at around 3 PM, Mason City police officers were dispatched to a burglary at an apartment at 1601 6th Pl SE. The caller stated that a female broke into his apartment.

“The male was taking a nap with his young child when the lady broke in, shook him awake, and wanted money,” a police spokesman told NIT.

“The caller followed the lady and stayed on the phone with dispatch. The caller directed responding officers to where the lady (Pearce) was hiding in somebody’s unlocked garage. She appeared intoxicated. Officers arrested her for public intox. In the process, she resisted arrest, by kicking one of the officers, and then refused to walk and was carried to squad car.

“During transport to the jail, she was able to slip her cuffs. When officers stopped the car to re-handcuff her, she then threw the handcuffs at the officer,” the spokesman continued.

Pearce was charged with the following crimes:

• Second-degree burglary

• Assault on person in certain occupations

• Interference (dismissed in plea deal)

• Public intoxication(dismissed in plea deal)

Records show Pearce was immediately charged with violating her probation and on September 11 she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and also sent to a residential facility, likely the notorious Beje Clark in Mason City, for 180 days.

In the home invasion case, Pearce reached a plea deal for class D felony attempted second-degree burglary and assault on persons in certain occupations. She was given a 5-year suspended prison sentence and 3 years of probation, along with the 180 days in a residential facility. A fine was also suspended, but she was ordered to pay Iowa courts $571.50.  Additionally, records show Pearce must submit to mental health and substance abuse evaluations.