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Weird Iowa: Littering With Fish, Garage Sale Assault and Iowa Mistaken for Omaha

This week we feature littering with fish in the street, a tussle over garage sale prices, and a West Des Moines house mistaken for Omaha.

 

You never know where our Weird Iowa feature will lead week-to-week. This week we've landed on a story that sounds very fishy, plus dustups over garage sales and teen parties.

In Iowa City, a man was charged with littering with fish and resisting arrest after he allegedly threw fish into the street because his mother called police to report he was drinking and causing trouble. Curtis Rarick, 52, of Iowa City, reportedly threw about six fish, including some catfish, out into the street in front of his mom's house. 

In non-animal news, we turn to a dustup at a garage sale. In Urbandale, a 58-year-old woman told police she was assaulted by an angry homeowner while haggling over the price of $400 worth of clothing at a garage sale. The homeowner denied grabbing the woman, but said he touched her arm to usher her to her car since she said she had no money and offered too little for the items.

News of a creepy variety from West Des Moines, where someone is harassing a 27-year-old woman. She told police she has twice come home from work at night to find the lock to her apartment filled with a fast-acting glue, making it impossible for her to get inside. She's also had the power shut off to her apartment by someone flipping the breaker.

Also in West Des Moines, a Colorado man was charged with public intoxication after he allegedly pounded on a woman's door and threw her patio furniture around. Michael Lynn Bracker, 25, of Denver was charged in the disturbance, although he denied tossing the items. He told police he needed to get to 92nd and Dodge Street — which doesn't exist in West Des Moines. There is such an intersection in Omaha.

A Marion man was charged with committing two sets of crimes — one outside of jail and one in custody. John Howard Waddington was arrested for burglary and taken to the Linn County Jail. While he was there, authorities searched his home, finding a marijuana-growing operation and items police suspect were taken from burglaries. That brought another wave of charges.

Johnston residents were warned by police not to buy Green Days carnival tickets from a source other than the booth on the grounds. On June 7, several thousand dollars worth of carnival tickets were reportedly stolen from a ticket booth in neighboring Grimes. Police said the suspects may try to sell or scalp the stolen tickets in Johnston, but the stolen tickets are no longer valid and will not be honored at the Green Days carnival.

And lastly, Ankeny police have released a photo of a vehicle that may have been involved in last month's early-morning shooting at the police station. Surveillance footage shows a van on Southwest Ordnance Road near the station about the time of an early-morning incident on April 29 where multiple rounds of gunfire struck police headquarters.

Related Topics: Weird Iowa

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