Police and Sheriff's Blotter

A Storm Lake man was held on multiple charges after a high speed chase early Saturday morning that reached 90 m.p.h. in the Emerald Park area. A police officer observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on West Milwaukee Avenue around 1 a.m. When the officer attempted to make a traffic stop, the driver refused to pull over and accelerated away, triggering a chase through the west side of town...

After a brief chase, a Storm Lake man was arrested on charges including Contraband in a Correctional Facility Sunday night. Storm Lake Police were called to McDonald’s around 6 p.m. by a victim reporting that a man was following them and trying to start a fight. ...

A Cherokee resident has been arrested in a theft case involving an ATM machine in Storm Lake. In June, police were notified of fraudulent activity and launched an investigation. The SLPD alleges that during the early morning hours of June 13, suspects had deposited an empty envelope into the ATM for a $4,000 deposit into a personal account. The suspects then conducted a series of ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and in-person withdrawals totaling $4,000 from the same account...

A teenager has been ordered to residential treatment with no jail time after multiple violations of probation stemming from a Lascivious Acts With a Child case in 2019. Judge John Sandy also ordered that Ivan Najera, age 19, of Spirit Lake, be held by the Buena Vista County Sheriff until a bed can be found in a treatment facility...

Jetorria White, age 23 of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced in Buena Vista County District Court this week, after pleading guilty in June to Burglary Second Degree and Child Endangerment. She was sentenced to a prison term not to exceed 10 years. White was one of three persons arrested in Storm Lake in October 2020 after reportedly forcing their way into a home and assaulting occupants in a custody dispute over a minor child...

James Lightfoot, age 35 of Newell, was sentenced this week in Buena Vista County District Court. in July, Lightfoot entered a guilty plea for two felony counts of Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Registry requirements. He was sentenced to a prison term not to exceed five years with the Iowa Department of Corrections. Lightfoot is required to turn himself in to begin his sentence by November...

On August 31st, Lisa Lohnes, age 37 of Storm Lake, was sentenced in Iowa District Court to serve a prison sentence not to exceed 10 years. On August 12th, Lohnes entered a guilty plea for the crime of Perjury, a Class D Felony and Failure to Appear...

On August 30th, Juan Alvarez, age 26 of Early, was sentenced in the Iowa District Court to a prison term not to exceed five years. On May 19th,Alvarez entered a guilty plea to felony Theft in the Second Degre.

An Aurelia man has been jailed on charges of embezzling approximately $6,500 while working at the GameStop store in Storm Lake. Police were called to the store on Salebarn Road August 5th, for a reported internal theft. GameStop Corporate Loss Prevention officials told police that employee Adrian Dimas, age 32, had manipulated sales systems since December of 2019 misappropriating various benefits for his own use.  ...

A man charged with first-degree murder in the killing of a Lake Park woman in her home last year has pleaded not guilty in the case. Justice Bernston, 24, on Monday pleaded not guilty to the murder count, as well as theft and conspiracy counts, the Sioux City Journal reported. His trial has been scheduled to begin Sept. 21...

Three Storm Lake residents were arrested after a routine traffic stop last week led to discovery of 27 pounds of marijuana and $67,000 in cash inside a vehicle. Two children in the vehicle at the time of the stop were removed from their parents’ custody...

On July 12th, following a contested sentencing hearing, Josue Humberto Cortez, age 19 of Storm Lake, was sentenced in the Iowa District Court by the Honorable John M. Sandy for the crime of Burglary in the Second Degree, a Class C Felony. The Court granted Cortez a deferred judgment and placed him on probation to the Iowa Department of Corrections for a period of 4 years along with 40 hours of community service. The State sought the entry of a conviction due to the seriousness of the offense...

Luth Dak, Storm Lake, surrendered himself at the police station Tuesday, after being charged in two July 4th assaults. Officers were called to the medical center emergency room around 2 a.m. on the 5th, where a male patient was being treated for facial injuries following as assault...

A Storm Lake man has been sentenced to a term of up to 10 years in prison after being convicted in the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl he had reportedly connected with through social media site Snapchat. The abuse took place at homes in Storm Lake in December. Mendoza Munoz was arrested shortly after the abuse was reported in early January...

On Wednesday June 23, a Storm Lake police officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle at approximately 2 a.m. at East Milwaukee and Radio Road.  During the traffic stop, the Buena Vista County Sheriff K9 unit was deployed and alerted to narcotics in the vehicle. Officers located drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle, but also found that the driver, James Lightfoot, age 35 of Storm Lake, was wanted on multiple arrest warrants through Buena Vista and Pocahontas counties. ...

An “extremely dangerous” and wounded teenager on the run has ties to Storm Lake. Miguel A. Ninez Jr, age 18 of Sioux Falls, S.D., has been charged in the killing of a man in an Austin, Minn., home as part of a plot to steal drugs at gunpoint, according to charges. Storm Lake Police notified the public of the situation in a social media post Wednesday, noting that Nunez may have shaved his head since the crime...

A Storm Lake man was arrested Saturday after a police dog indicated narcotics in a vehicle. A six-year-old child was a passenger in the car at the time. An officer stopped the vehicle on North Lake Avenue around 1 a.m. on a minor traffic violation. The K9 unit was deployed and alerted to drugs in the vehicle. Officers searching the vehicle found a quantity of marijuana, methamphetamine, prescription drugs, marijuana wax and numerous items of drug paraphernalia...

A Storm Lake man has been arrested after a rifle went off inside a home, while the man was reportedly teaching a nine-year-old child how to shoot it. Police were called to a residence in the 300 block of West 6th Street around 11:15 p.m. for a firearms incident. They met an adult female and a child outside the residence. The adult male inside the residence, Khamlae Kongmanichanh, age 41 of Storm Lake, exited the house after officers’ commands, and was taken into custody...