DAKOTA CITY, Neb. – A few prisoners at the Dakota County Jail were involved in fisticuffs last month, but officials believe the bout came from rather unusual origins.

According to court documents, a corrections deputy summoned a Dakota County sheriff’s deputy to the jail on Oct. 12 after two male prisoners got into a scuffle at the Dakota City facility.

The sheriff’s deputy wrote that a review of security footage showed one inmate sticking his butt toward another inmate, after which the two men began fighting.

When authorities interviewed inmates who witnessed the fight, they were told that the incident had gaseous beginnings.

According to court documents, the witnesses said the fight started because the first inmate “passed gas” on the second.

As a result, I believe both men involved were charged with one felony count of assaulting a confined person. It may not be a felony to fart in someone’s face in a Nebraska jail, but it is if you beat them up afterward.

The cops say he came from Wasilla.

Clay County (Iowa) authorities say an Alaskan man was injured this weekend while trying to help out at the scene of a crash involving a 91-year-old woman.

According to a sheriff’s press release, Joseph Beck, of Wasilla, Alaska, was driving in the area when he noticed an accident at the corner of M-50 and B-24 just east of Spencer, Iowa.

As many of you know, Wasilla is famous for being the home of former Republican vice presidential nominee, hockey mom and new author Sarah Palin. (Or, as Vanity Fair likes to say about Palin: “It Came From Wasilla.”)

Police say the accident happened about 4:45 p.m. Saturday when Lois Michelson, 91, of Spencer was turning left from M-50 onto B-24 when her Buick Century hit the side of a Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Jesse Clark, 23, of Spencer.

The impact sent Clark’s vehicle into the ditch.

Police say Beck, who was not involved in the accident, stopped to help.

Things really got interesting, police say, when Clark found out somebody called the cops — and promptly took off.

Beck allegedly saw him leaving, tried to get him to stop and was dragged across the intersection for his efforts.

According to police, Beck suffered a laceration to the back of his head when he fell.

The press release doesn’t say why Clark, likely not the cause of the accident, allegedly decided to flee but the fact one of the charges he faces is driving while license revoked speaks volumes.

The other charge is reckless driving.

Could this be some sneaky sort of media campaign for Palin’s new book, Going Rogue? You know, send out native Wasillans to do good deeds the week your book launches….

Maybe not, but Beck is the first Alaskan I’ve ever seen in a Northwest Iowa accident report.

Then again, if you’re brave you can try asking Palin yourself when she signs copies of her book Dec. 6 at Barnes & Noble in the Southern Hills Mall. As of now, it’s her only stop in Iowa.

Burglary charges have been dropped against two men who were arrested with black permanent marker scribbled all over their faces, but one of the men still faces accusations of drunk driving.

According to court documents, Matthew McNelly, 23, and Joey Miller, 20, were “wearing” the clever disguises when they were arrested Oct. 23 for allegedly trying to break into an apartment.

Carroll police booked both men for felony second-degree burglary, also charging McNelly with drunk driving, and took the mug shots that made headlines around the world.

The men were scheduled to be arraigned Friday, but the burglary charges were dismissed last week.

According to court documents, McNelly still faces a single misdemeanor charge of operating while intoxicated – first offense.

A Sioux City man is scheduled to go to court next week for allegedly biting a police officer during an arrest.

According to court documents, Jonathan Robert Seff, 34, began screaming and yelling at police while they were investigating an early-morning accident Sunday at the corner of 28th Street and Floyd Boulevard in Sioux City.

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Welcome to the Crime Blog’s first-ever Drug Case Appreciation Week.

Several people have been arrested and charged with interesting drug-related offenses so I’m going to feature them the rest of the week.

Most aren’t interesting due to the amount of drugs seized, although today’s case includes a hefty load of marijuana, but because of what people allegedly say and do when they are arrested.

Today’s case made the blog not only for what a suspect is accused of saying, but also because it was allegedly said to a child protective services worker.

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Okay, I know I should have posted this a week ago, but it’s still pretty funny.

Recently, I noticed a Sioux City woman had been indicted for a federal drug conspiracy charge in U.S. District Court in Sioux City.

But there’s a twist or two in this tale.
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Police were called to a Sioux City hotel recently because a guest was causing a ruckus over the unacceptably low temperature of the hotel’s pool.

Sioux City Police Sgt. Mike Post said the dispute started when a guest of the Baymont Inn & Suites did not get the refund they thought they deserved.

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If only he hadn’t had such memorable hair.

The police log contains quite a bit of criminal mischief, a charge that covers property damage such as graffiti and vandalism, but it seems like few suspects get caught in the act.

Especially not by a police sergeant.

However, court documents allege Zachary Bainbridge, 17, of Merrill, Iowa, is an unlucky kid with an eye-catching head of hair.

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Good news to all you animal lovers out there: Acea Schomaker says he’s not smoking marijuana anymore.

Considering what police officers in Lincoln, Neb., allegedly fished out of the last bong he was smoking, that’s probably a good thing — especially if you’re a cat.

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case it might be worth five years.

According to court documents, the case against a Sioux City man started in August, when police were called in Summit Street to a report of a gun found in an attic bedroom.

The 15-year-old boy who had been living in the bedroom said the .32 caliber handgun did not belong to him.

He later admitted to keeping it for someone, but wouldn’t say who. The internet eventually did the talking for him.

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