Drunk Driving

SIRENS 11-11-09 (11/11/09)
Chase James Hagedorn, 19, Dickens, was charged with driving while license suspended/mandatory revocation at 1:18 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24. He was transported to the Clay County Jail. Tyler John Harkema, 28, Spencer, was arrested on a Clay County warrant at 10:01 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the 200 block of West Fourth Street. He was transported to the Clay County Jail...

Cast a vote for local 'Every 15 Minutes' video (11/06/09)
A local video dramatizing the dangers of drinking and driving has been named one of 13 top entries in a national contest. The just over 31-minute video, which was produced by Spencer Municipal Utilities staff this past spring, features Clay Central-Everly students and other area representatives who'd been involved in a local drunk driving accident, as well as ensuing court and funeral scenarios. ...

Sirens 10-3-09 (10/03/09)
Betty Ann Burg, 46, Spencer, was charged with OWI-first offense at 9:13 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in the 2200 block of West Fourth Street. Joshua Adam Lambert, 34, Spencer, was charged with theft-third degree at 9:39 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in the 500 block of Ninth Avenue West...

Sirens 9-18-09 (09/18/09)
Jose Ramon De Leon Tavarez, 23, Paullina, was charged with driving while suspended and failure to file SR-22 insurance at 8:05 a.m. Monday, Sept. 14, in the 180th Avenue of B-40 after a Clay County deputy initiated a traffic stop for a traffic violation. Hw was transported to the Clay County Jail and held on a $300 bond...

Sirens 7-30-09 (07/30/09)
Scott Pruitt, 18, Spencer, was charged with criminal trespassing at 12:49 p.m. Friday, July 17, in the 200 block of 32nd Avenue West. He was transported to the Spencer Police Department, processed and turned over to the jailer. Preston Paulsen, 18, Spencer was charged with criminal trespassing at 12:49 p.m. Friday, July 17, in the 200 block of 32nd Avenue West. He was transported to the Spencer Police Department, processed and turned over to the jailer...

Sirens 6-5-09 (06/05/09)
James Patrick Griffin, 45, St. Laurens, was charged with no insurance and improper registration on Thursday, May 28, in the 3900 block of N18 during a routine traffic stop by Clay County deputies. He was transported to the Clay County Jail and held to appear before a magistrate...

Sirens 5-30-09 (05/30/09)
--- Manuel Martinez, 27, Spencer, was arrested on a Clay County warrant on a charge of violation of probation at 2:26 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, in the 20 block of West First Street. He was transported to the Spencer Police Department and turned over to the Clay County Jail...

Sending a solemn message (04/24/09)
The impacts of drinking and driving were brought front and center for Clay Central-Everly High School students Thursday afternoon as they witnessed two friends -- Tasia Nielsen and Mitch Maurer -- "die" before their eyes. Peers and community members had been working behind the scenes over the past month to illustrate the fact that a person is killed in alcohol-related accidents every 15 minutes on U.S. roadways.

Deputies take driving safety sTEP by sTEP (03/13/09)
Clay County Deputy Jesse Rustad doesn't know what a late-morning patrol is going to bring. On Thursday, it delivered some dry traveling conditions, good seat belt use and drivers who didn't flaunt the speed limit on U.S. Highway 18 between Dickens and Spencer...

Prather case pt. 1 - Defendant's appearance delayed (03/04/09)
The court appearance for the Spencer man suspected in a fatal drunk driving case has been postponed until 10 a.m. Thursday after a self-inflicted medical emergency delayed the court process Tuesday morning. Attorneys handling the James Prather vehicular homicide case scrambled to coordinate a change of circumstances in the 15 minutes before the 57-year-old was scheduled to enter a guilty plea. ...

UPDATE -- Prather expected to recover, has new court date (03/03/09)

High speeds, drinking lead to arrest (02/10/09)
A 24-year-old Spencer man faces a series of charges following a traffic stop at 9:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 2500 block of U.S. Highway 18. While on a routine patrol, a Clay County Deputy stopped a vehicle driven by Nicholas Elmer Farghum for going 114 mph in a 55 mph zone. The deputy then did a brief investigation after the stop and suspected Farghum of driving while intoxicated...

Citizens Police Academy hosting seventh session (01/21/09)
The Spencer Police Department will be hosting its 7th Citizen Police Academy beginning March 17, and running through May 19. Classes will be held each Tuesday evening starting at 6"30 p.m. and concluding at 8 p.m. Topics that will be covered include, but not limited to: communication center operations, 911, Constitutional Law, search and seizure, laws of arrest, use of force, traffic enforcement, radar, lidar, OWI enforcement, DRE, crime scene processing, criminal investigations, drug investigations, search warrants, juvenile probation, adult corrections, jail field trips and ride alongs.. ...

SIRENS 11-26-08 (11/26/08)
--- --- --- --- The deputy was advised that Steelman had two warrants out of O'Brien County for arrest on previous operating while intoxicated and driving while barred violations. The deputy then tried to identify the second occupant in the vehicle...

Drunk driving remains a concern (11/20/08)
Before the end of the month, Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson says he will have an extra officer out on patrol on Friday and Saturday nights. The added patrol, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., is being made possible for the next 10-12 months through a grant from the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau. Drunk driving is a much-needed focus, according to Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow...

Lawson: No impact on Spencer cameras (09/02/08)
DES MOINES (AP) -- The Iowa Supreme Court, in a split ruling on Friday, upheld the city of Davenport's use of traffic cameras to catch speeders and drivers who run red lights. The ruling involved the case of a man who challenged the city's ordinance, which authorized the use of cameras and sensors to catch motorists who violate traffic laws...

Arraignment set in vehicular homicide case (08/22/08)
A Spencer man will have a chance to respond to amended charges for his possible role in a traffic fatality earlier this summer. James Owen Prather faces a charges of vehicular homicide, serious injury by vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. The vehicular homicide charge is a Class B felony and carries a penalty no more than 25 years in prison...

Extra enforcement planned for Labor Day (08/22/08)
Area law enforcement agencies are once again stepping up patrols in advance of the Labor Day holiday weekend. Chief Deputy Duane Bates of the Clay County Sheriff's Office is coordinating the year's fifth and final wave of sTEP, the special traffic enforcement program. The enforcement effort is being held in conjunction with "Over the Limit. Under Arrest," a national drunk driving awareness campaign...

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