Crime & Safety

Police Called When Platinum Ring Goes Missing at Mall

West Des Moines police investigate a rash of calls.

Is There a Disappointed Bride-to-Be in West Des Moines?

Dr. Daniel Ephraim Pott-Pepperman, 53, of West Des Moines reported the theft of a 1-carat diamond engagement ring while he was shopping Feb. 11 at Valley West Mall, 1551 Valley West Drive.

Pott-Pepperman, who is also known as Daniel Abang-Ntuen, according to the police report, said he was carrying the ring in a white box in the pocket of his coat. He said he had removed his coat while trying on clothing at the Von Maur and Younkers department stores, and noticed the ring, a platinum band with a 1-carat diamond and several smaller diamonds and valued at $6,000, was missing when he stopped in the Josephs Jewelers store in the mall. 

Neighbors Quarrel Over Missing Shoes
A quarrel over missing shoes led April Gayle Linder, 34, of the 700 block of Ninth Street to police that a neighbor, Rachel Blake Fellows, 41, of the 700 block of 10th Street allegedly entered her home without permission, assaulted her and refused to leave on Feb. 8.

Officer Ben Woods wrote in his report that Fellows and her son knocked at Linder’s back door, which was locked. Fellows was apparently upset over a pair of her son’s shoes that had been missing. She told police she wanted to confront Linder after seeing shoes that looked like the missing pair on her neighbor's porch.

The shoes previously had been reported as stolen to the West Des Moines Police Department.

Linder asked for a no-contact order, and police told her she would have to pursue that through the courts. She then said that she wanted trespassing and assault charges filed against Fellows.

When police interviewed Fellows, they noticed a red scratch. According to the report, Fellows alleged that Linder put her hands on her neck and pushed her back while she was in the house.

When Linder’s son opened the door and stepped back, Fellows told police she saw that as an invitation to enter the house.

Police told Fellows that they would pursue an assault investigation, but that she faces possible trespassing charges.

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Woman Alleges Harassment By Online Pal Who Helped Her Financially
A 40-year-old West Des Moines woman reported to police that she is being harassed by a man she met online.

She told police he had written her a $1,000 check to help her with her finances. When she attempted to cash the check, the bank put a hold on it because officials feared there might be insufficient funds in the account to cover it.

The woman reported that the man was trying to get her to agree to deposit other checks for him into her account and for her to give him back cash in the amounts that were significantly less than the checks he gave her for deposit.

The woman refused to do that, given the status of the first check, and the man became upset with her. She told police she has since several threatening phone calls and voicemails in which the suspect threatened “to call the cops on her” and said that she would be going to jail.

Officer Scott Davis wrote in his report that he attempted to contact the man and ask him to stop contacting the woman, but received a voicemail. In his followup investigation, Davis discovered that none of the checks the suspect had written had cleared.

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Woman Claims Men Entered House, Stole Items as Payment for Debt
Anthony John Fasano, 42, of the 3100 block of Vine Street reported that someone had broken into his home through the rear patio door on the night of Feb. 9 and stole two tire rims and a Playstation game console.

Fasano was gone at the time, but said his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Turner, was at the house when two men knocked at the rear patio door.

According to a report on file with the West Des Moines Police Department, Turner said two men entered the home and demanded what is owed to them. She told police that one of the men sat with her on the couch while the other went from room to room. She said one of them made three or four trips outside to a car in the driveway.

According to the police report, Turner left a message on Fasano’s cell phone after the men left the home. She told Officer Jess Bill later that she was afraid and did not think to call police “and that it was Fasano’s home anyway.”

When Fasano returned home with a friend, Turner described the events and then left. Fasano told police that he did not immediately notice the game console and tire rims were missing. He didn’t immediately call police either, saying that he wanted to get more information from Turner.

Man Arrested After Altercation at Mall
Christopher Love Brown, 40, of West Des Moines was charged with public intoxication, simple misdemeanor assault, third-degree harassment and probation violation after an alleged domestic dispute at Valley West Mall, 1551 Valley West Drive, on Feb. 6.

Officer Dan Wade wrote in his report that when he arrived, Brown was “yelling profanities at anyone he could see.” He had been handcuffed by mall security officers prior to Wade’s arrival.

Wade wrote that Brown appeared to be intoxicated, would not give information to the officer and continued to yell at passersby.

Brown had allegedly assaulted and harassed an employee of a business in the mall.

He was taken to the Polk County Jail for booking.

Also on the West Des Moines Police Blotter
Feb. 11
Mary Lee Pinegar, 47, pf  1325 11th St. told police that several items in her residence have been “moved around” or “gone missing” over the past several months, including a .380 handgun and ammunition that she believes were stolen sometime between Dec. 30 and Feb. 11. The items have a combined value of $125.

Feb. 10
A student at Valley High School, 3650 Woodland Ave.,  reported the theft of a smart phone valued at $250 while participating in physical education class.

Vickie Mae Sumlin, 46, of 1817 22nd St., Des Moines, was arrested and charged with harassment of a public official. At 8:20 a.m., Westcom Dispatch was notified by the Des Moines Police Department that a femal subject wanted on a West Des Moines Police Department warrant was in custody.

Feb. 8
Two Colorado residents face drug charges after police stopped a vehicle bearing Minnesota license plates for faulty equipment in the 100 block of Grand Avenue the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Officer Chris Morgan said he noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The driver, Darcie Marie Kelso, 21, of 825 S. Quebec, Denver, was unable to provide proof of insurance. Neither Kelso nor the passenger, Deandre Patrick Marshall, 25, also of 825 S. Quebec, Denver, had valid driver licenses.

A search of the vehicle revealed a marijuana roach in the ashtray and a 4.8 gram package of a substance believed to be synthetic marijuana, and a Colorado identification card and social security card that belonged to neither individual. They said they had found it at a rest area “a long time ago.”

Kelso was cited for failure to have a driver’s license and failure to have insurance on the vehicle.

Police also contacted Denver authorities in regard to the personal identification found n the vehicle.

West Des Moines Police arrested Joshua Michael Gustafson, 31, of 533 Third St., West Des Moines, who was wanted by Dallas County authorities for failure to appear on a citation for carrying weapons.

Feb. 7
Police are investigating a report that about 10 p.m., a babysitter who was caring for an 8-year-old girl allegedly slapped her. The suspect is a 29-year-old male who lives in the same apartment complex as the girl and her parents, who reported the alleged incident. The child told her parents that she told the babysitter’s mother, whose name was not provided, that a baby at the residence had burned his hand, and she was slapped then by the suspect by an unknown means. Police did not interview the girl, but her parents said that a month ago, she claimed to have been pushed by the suspect, resulting in her hitting her head on the wall. That incident was not reported to police.

Feb. 6
Leonides Rivera Jr., 20, of 6008 Carpenter St., Des Moines, reported that an iPhone valued at $250 while he was attending classes at Des Moines Area Community College’s West Campus, 59559 Grand Ave.

Police were called to the Clive home of a Valley Southwoods Freshman School student about 5 p.m. to take a report from a 14-year-old student who said he had been assaulted. He said that he was standing near the bus drive on the east side of the school waiting for the bus, said goodbye to his girlfriend, and then turned around and was confronted by another student, who punched him multiple times. The student fell to the ground and the alleged assailant kicked him in the head, chest and hands and hit him with a closed fist. Another student advised that the principal was approaching, and the alleged assailant fled.

The student told police that he thinks the alleged assault had been arranged by another student with whom he had difficulties in the past. Both the alleged victim in this assault and the person he believes arranged it were suspended over that incident. On that day, the student told the victim “he had better watch his back, that he was going to get hit.”


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