For those of you who asked, I’ve got bad news about Bubbles the bird-napped parrot.

Authorities looked, but recently said they have not found the white umbrella cockatoo stolen about one year ago from her cage in rural Sioux City.

Her owner believed the suspect or suspects had seen the bird at the house, which also contains a pet store called Zimmerman’s Pets.

If anyone knows where the bird is, they can still call the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office at 712)-546-8191.

Surprisingly, parrots appear to be a hot item to steal.

I wonder if she was taken by the same person who stole Gordo, a parrot who skateboards, from a cage in front of his California home in March.

Or Hercules, a parrot stolen a few years ago from a California pet store where he reigned as the official mascot.

But it isn’t all bad news. The New York Post reports Franklin, an 18-year-old African Gray, was returned in 2007 by street peddlers who had unwittingly bought the stolen bird.

A Sioux City woman has been sentenced to prison for stabbing the same man for a second time.

According to court documents, Sandra Edwards, 40, will serve up to two years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated domestic assault for the Aug. 11 stabbing of Tracy Godfrey under the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Sioux City.

Read the rest of this entry »

Defense attorneys threw an interesting twist into what was supposed to be a routine pretrial hearing Tuesday for Andrew Orellana, a Sioux City man accused of shooting and killing a rival gang member back in 1997.

Prior to the hearing, Orellana’s attorneys filed a motion asking prosecutors to produce a variety of evidence.

Tops on the list was details of a phone call someone made to Sioux City police, reporting that a gun used in the murder was in a police officer’s mailbox.

Say what?

Read the rest of this entry »

The silence has broken.

Although there have been several filings over the summer in Timothy Sohler’s murder case, most were to postpone court dates or involved regular court procedures.

That’s a stark contrast to the Lawrence Douglas Harris murder case, during which I accumulated two huge stacks of court filings.

However, in the past few weeks attorneys for both sides in the Sohler case have shown a bit more about what we may see when he goes to trial on Oct. 20.

Read the rest of this entry »

HINTON, Iowa — Please don’t panic if you see a fleet of local, state and federal emergency vehicles crammed into the downtown Hinton on Saturday.

I can’t blame anyone for being curious. People have plenty of time to notice things in Hinton because they have to brake down to a crawl to get through there on Highway 75 without getting pulled over for speeding.

But I can honestly say don’t worry: It’s probably just a drill.

Read the rest of this entry »

The crime blog has been lacking a little lately, but those following my Journal Twitter account can tell you they’re still getting their crime news fix.

Several Sioux City Journal reporters and me, as well as the Journal itself, post regular updates on twitter accounts.

It’s free, pretty fun and more local people are using it than you might think. Twelve staffers at the Journal tweet on a regular basis.
Read the rest of this entry »

SIOUX CITY — Thinking about making a late-night run to the corner store to buy some cool refreshing beer?

It’s not a bad idea, but you might want to drive instead of walk.
A Sioux City teen faces a felony robbery charge for allegedly attacking another man and stealing his beer.

According to court documents, Luis Flores, 17, pleaded not guilty Monday to one charge of second-degree robbery, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

This seems to happen a lot in Sioux City.

Read the rest of this entry »

WEST BEND, Iowa — Not sure if Catholic priests can come back as ghosts, but a trio of Algona men arrested recently in front of a religious landmark might want to be careful just in case.

According to a Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office report, three Algona, Iowa, men were arrested early Saturday morning in connection with report of a large fight in front of the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa.

For those of you who don’t know, the Grotto of the Redemption is a huge collection of rocks in designs portraying the life of Jesus Christ.

Read the rest of this entry »

Officials say Sioux City’s most famous yellow Labrador is still on the loose tonight, despite rampant rumors of his capture.

Jake, Councilman Aaron Rochester’s dog, has been missing since he was stolen Sunday from Sioux City Animal Control.

Jake was being held there on doggie death row after being ruled vicious for biting a neighbor in front of his house.

Read the rest of this entry »

The saga of Jake, Sioux City Councilman Aaron Rochester’s dog, gets more twisted by the day.

The yellow Labrador ran into trouble with the law in June after biting somebody in front of his house, then became the poster pup for a vicious animal ordinance that supporters of other breeds (pit bulls) have complained about since its inception.

Rochester and his family went through the city’s various processes with the dog, whose vicious designation was upheld, and Jake was sent to the dog version of death row at Sioux City Animal Control.

As many of you may already know, on Sunday somebody busted him out of jail. Today, the Journal is reporting Rochester says he sold Jake for $1  just before he was stolen.

You can’t make this stuff up.
Read the rest of this entry »