March 19, 2024

Police Blotter

Newton Police Department

• Melissa A. Braaksma, 41, of Newton was charged with harassment, a simple misdemeanor, after authorities responded to a harassment complaint at 5:49 p.m. Monday at a residence in the 200 block of North 13th Avenue West. According to court documents, the victim told authorities Braaksma yelled at the victim, telling her she needed to go on a diet and saying “your fat, fatty, fatty, fatso” to the victim while she walked by Braaksma’s house. Braaksma told the officer she was talking about her dog and not the victim, and the officer observed the dog did not appear to be abnormally large or obese. Braaksma was charged and released to appear in court.

• Carrie M. Cunningham, 17, of Newton was cited with following too closely after traveling south on East 17th Street South at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday and striking the rear of a vehicle driven by Connie L. Robertson, 57, of Newton, who had stopped to turn east. No one was injured. Robertson’s vehicle sustained an estimated $100 damage and Cunningham’s an estimated $1,200 damage.

• Tammy J. Kappel, 41, of Ackley was charged with two counts of wanton neglect of a resident of a health care facility, an aggravated misdemeanor, and one count of prohibited acts/possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor, after authorities were called to Park Centre on May 6 in reference to a theft of prescription medication — hydrocodone — from a resident at the facility. The resident indicated Kappel, who was a nurse at Park Centre at the time of the incident, had filled her prescription for her and that more than 60 of the pills were missing. During the execution of a search warrant at Kappel’s home, authorities found pill bottles belonging to two Park Centre residents in the trash. Kappel was charged for allegedly taking more than 48 hydrocodone pills from two Park Centre residents between April 9 and May 6, causing substantial risk to their heath and safety. She was transported to the Jasper County Jail.

Jasper County Sheriff’s Office

• Eric K. Bullard Jr., 24, of Baxter was arrested Wednesday after authorities responded to a report at 9:36 a.m. of a man sleeping in a vehicle with the motor running in the Walmart parking lot. A deputy arrived at the scene and woke Bullard. After asking Bullard to step out of the vehicle, the deputy observed a glass pipe sticking out of Bullard’s pocket. During the investigaiton, the deputy also observed an electronic Taser in the passenger seat, a large construction knife on the floor of the passenger side, several baggies with a white crystal substance that tested positive for methamphetamine and electronic scales. The methamphetamine found in the vehicle had a total gross weight of 13.6 grams. Bullard was charged with unauthorizied possession of an offensive weapon, failure to affix a drug tax stamp, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was taken to the Jasper County Jail.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.