Rifles and shotguns seized in Iowa crimes are sold back to the public to raise money for the state, but some victim advocates say the annual gun auction adds to the problem of easy access to weapons for abusers and would-be criminals. Seized handguns are destroyed unless law enforcement agencies need them for officer use. [...]

At 4 a.m. on June 5, 2007, Micah Matthews broke into a 50-year-old woman’s Iowa City home, woke her and forced her at gunpoint to drive to an ATM and withdraw cash. Matthews then pistol-whipped her, sexually assaulted her and bound her wrists and ankles with a phone cord. The woman survived but endured months [...]

  Nearly six weeks after a man died and three officers were injured in a shooting in North Liberty, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness has called a press conference to release more information about the fatal encounter. Lyness this afternoon announced that her office will release more details about the March 10 shooting at 1:30 [...]

  Nearly four weeks after a man died and three officers were injured in a shooting in North Liberty, the community’s police department remains short staffed pending a decision about whether charges should be filed. The three North Liberty police officers involved in the March 10 shootout at 238 Holiday Lodge Road were put on [...]

Parents long have heeded warnings about Internet predators, but one form of technology that’s moved online is providing some virtual offenders another way to hunt victims and perpetrate crimes. Video game systems that allow players to connect with other users via the Internet – like Xbox Live and Playstation Network – have grown increasingly popular. [...]

It has been referred to as the “CSI effect.” Fictional forensic crime shows on TV — like “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” — have given viewers, who then serve as jurors, an unrealistic expectation for DNA evidence to exist in all criminal investigations. That effect — paired with the reality that newer technologies are, in fact, [...]

The new commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety Thursday announced personnel changes that included a change of leadership for the Iowa State Patrol. Brian London, Gov. Terry Branstad’s recent pick as DPS leader, said he was reassigning Col. Patrick Hoye to become head of the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau and elevating Dave [...]

UPDATE: A state senator is questioning Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s use of federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) money to help pay for a probe of alleged voter fraud in Iowa. Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, chairman of the Senate’s Government Oversight Committee, said Tuesday he has formally requested state and federal audits of [...]

DES MOINES — Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz on Thursday praised the investigative work that led to three Iowa residents being charged with voter fraud. Charges of first-degree election misconduct, a Class D felony, were brought against Albert Harte-Maxwell, 52; Linda Harte-Maxwell, 49; and Maria Ayon-Fernandez, 40, all of Council Bluffs. They were booked [...]