POLICE BLOTTER: Reports Allege Phony Book Sale, Loan Fraud and Bank Door Tampering

Editor's Note: All information below is provided by police in incident reports and reflects when the incident occurred, not when an arrest or charges were filed. Charges do not always result in convictions.

Feb. 3
Shawn David Little, 27, of 540½ 16th St., was charged with public intoxication by West Des Moines Police at 500 First St. He was arrested after Des Moines police asked for assistance in apprehending two men who were running on the west side of 63rd/First Street. One was allegedly chasing the other with a knife. Little was in hand restraints when police arrived. He was booked at the Polk County Jail.

Teresa Marie Frome, 50, of 2434 Green Hills Drive, Norwalk, told police that as she was driving northbound on Interstate 35 to work about 4:30 a.m., she noticed two people standing on the University Avenue overpass. She slowed slightly and saw both of them draw their arms back and realized they were throwing things on the interstate. She couldn’t see what they were throwing, but said one of the objects hit her vehicle. The roof of her vehicle sustained multiple gouges, and damage was estimated at $999.

Feb. 2
West Des Moines police are looking for a suspect they describe as a “couch hopper” believed to be responsible for a burglary at a residence at 1201 Office Park Road. Electronic equipment valued at $500 and $20 in cash were taken in the burglary, which occurred between about 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

Jessica Travis, the branch vice president at U.S. Bank, 225 50th St., reported an attempted burglary to police. She said that when she arrived at work about 8:45 a.m., the handle to the main entry door was broken, had numerous scratch marks near the lock and looked as if someone had tried to pry it open. Entry was not gained to the bank’s foyer area, Travis told police that employees had noticed problems with the door handle the day before.

An employe of Greater Iowa Credit Union, 1630 22nd St., reported to police that during the last year, an Urbandale man had used false identification to obtain $8,800 in vehicle and unsecured loans. According to the report, the suspect had verified his identity with a Texas identification card and an Iowa vehicle registration. When the loans went to the collections department, credit union officials discovered that a false identity had been used to open the account. In a related development, Des Moines police said the suspect had written $3,000 in stolen checks to himself, cashed and deposited them into his credit union account.

Heath Allen Pelzer, 210 S. Fourth St., reported to police that on Sept. 9, two college-aged males came to his door selling books and magazines to raise money for school. He purchased two sets of books for a total of $110 and was told he would receive his books in about 120 days. His checks were cashed, but when he checked the status of his order online, he received an error message. He sent emails to the address the two men had provided, but has not received a reply.

Samuel Eugene Zwiefel, 28, of 2450 E.P. True Pkwy., was charged with simple domestic assault and booked at the Polk County Jail.

Jan. 26
West Des Moines Police took a report from the Iowa Department of Human Services on a possible case of lascivious acts with a child that allegedly occurred in West Des Moines. A 32-year-old man has been identified as a suspect in the case, which involved a 6-year-old boy, according to the police report. No additional information is available, and the investigation remains active.