CRIME

MASON CITY — A violent Iowa felon with a record of arson, burglary, assault, domestic abuse, harassment, theft, fleeing police and repeatedly violating probation allegedly added two more offenses to his criminal résumé during a July 24 encounter with police in Mason City.

Christopher Maurice Kessler, 35, was arrested after Mason City police responded at 7:28 a.m. Friday, July 24, 2026, to a trespassing complaint at an apartment building at 819 North Delaware Avenue.

OSAGE — An Osage man faces four criminal charges after police arrested him early Saturday morning in connection with an alleged domestic assault involving a weapon.

MASON CITY — A 21-year-old Mason City woman allegedly drove intoxicated with a young relative inside her vehicle before wandering off the roadway and striking a mailbox – and now faces serious charges.

MASON CITY — A 61-year-old Mason City man was arrested after police say he was allegedly caught masturbating inside a truck parked at Georgia Hanford Park while children were playing nearby.

CLEAR LAKE — Nearly nine months after a Clear Lake couple was hauled to jail on felony accusations involving sexually explicit images of children, neither suspect has gone to trial—and their cases have now been postponed yet again.

Vicki Sue Colombo, then 65, and John Joseph Colombo, then 68, were arrested by the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office on October 23, 2025, after Clear Lake police investigated alleged offenses dating to November 2024.

OSAGE — A Charles City woman previously convicted of drunk driving was nabbed by police in Osage earlier this month and now faces an aggravated-misdemeanor charge for allegedly operating while intoxicated for the second time.

An Iowa man who admitted neglecting 11 emaciated dogs and puppies found trapped inside a filthy pickup truck earlier this year is back behind bars, now accused of felony drug possession and driving while barred.

Officers found two dogs and nine puppies living amid feces and urine throughout the truck’s cab. Every animal was emaciated, according to police.

Officers and Animal Control workers removed the animals and rushed them to an animal refuge for evaluation and treatment.

Veterinary personnel rated the animals a 2 on a body-condition scale ranging from 0 to 9, confirming they were severely underweight, malnourished and had not received proper care.

A 16-year-old Northern Iowa suspect has been charged as an adult after he allegedly shot and killed another teenager with a shotgun inside a mobile home, according to police and court records.

Under Iowa law, certain serious felony cases involving defendants age 16 or older begin in adult district court, although the defendant may ask a judge to transfer the case back to juvenile court.

An Iowa law enforcement officer was stabbed in the face by a knife-wielding driver moments after the officer shot the man during a confrontation that followed an early-morning pursuit, state investigators said.

The deadly encounter unfolded at approximately 1:25 a.m. Sunday, July 26, 2026, after a Jefferson Police Department officer attempted to stop a vehicle for an undisclosed reason.

ANAMOSA — An Iowa inmate serving a 50-year prison sentence for shooting and killing his roommate died at 11:36 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, 2026, inside the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

CLEAR LAKE — A Clear Lake woman who was still serving probation for a prior felony drug conviction has been jailed on a new methamphetamine conspiracy charge following an apparent traffic stop.

A Minnesota man loaded with illicit drugs who led Northern Iowa officers on a dangerous, multi-jurisdictional chase reaching 126 mph was later arrested in Waterloo on another felony drug case and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison.

Quaddre Phillip White, now 26, remains incarcerated at the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City. Iowa corrections records list his scheduled release date as January 29, 2028.

The string of criminal cases began at approximately 6:58 p.m. on April 12, 2024, when the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 report concerning a vehicle traveling south on U.S. Highway 63 from the Howard County line.

A responding deputy located a vehicle matching the caller’s description and allegedly clocked it traveling 96 mph in a 55 mph zone while following another vehicle too closely.

FORT DODGE — A man died after he was shot Friday afternoon in a Fort Dodge neighborhood, and police detained a second man identified as the alleged shooter at the scene.

A Northern Iowa pair accused of luring an unsuspecting man from his apartment before violently attacking him now faces felony prosecution in Emmet County, although one defendant has formally raised a claim of self-defense.

A Guatemalan man illegally living in Northern Iowa after twice being removed from the United States has been sentenced to federal prison, authorities announced.

The alien was convicted after he attempted to stab his nephew with a knife during a domestic incident.

MASON CITY — A Northern Iowa woman who received deferred judgments for dependent-adult abuse and drunk driving is now serving time in the Cerro Gordo County Jail after violating probation and losing both of those favorable court dispositions.

A Fort Dodge man has admitted his role in a methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking conspiracy after federal prosecutors say he repeatedly sold drugs to people working with law enforcement, then fled Iowa in an attempt to avoid prosecution. Federal authorities say he fled Iowa in an effort to avoid prosecution after being indicted. His run ended about three months later when authorities arrested him in Jackson, Mississippi.

FORT DODGE — A 30-year-old Iowa inmate serving a lengthy prison sentence stemming from serious robbery and burglary crimes has died at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. The convict had already been behind bars for nearly a decade.