Newton woman gets 10 days in jail for telling juveniles to conceal evidence

Amanda Bruce, of Newton, was sentenced last week to a maximum of 10 days in jail after a jury found her guilty of obstructing prosecution when she told juveniles to keep their mouths shut and change their social media pages after they allegedly stole guns from a local residence back in November 2024.

The State of Iowa recommended a sentence of seven days in jail and a fine of $855. Assistant Jasper County Attorney Nicholas Pietrack said at the sentencing hearing April 16 that Bruce’s decision to conceal evidence from police and affect the outcome of the juveniles’ criminal records was “immature.”

Richard Phelps, the attorney representing Bruce, asked the court to only enforce a fine with no jail time. He argued his client did not testify in court and that when her son was arrested by police she did not know the charges. He described the father of her children as a “career criminal” and said Bruce had a “rough life.”

While he did not make excuses, Phelps argued against imparting further damage to her life. Judge Steven Holwerda considered the arguments from the defense and the prosecution before making his decision, ultimately forgoing the fines entirely and implementing a slightly longer jail sentence.

Holwerda noted Bruce’s crime did not involve firearms, but the alleged crimes she tried to conceal did. To make matters worse, these actions were allegedly committed by juveniles who reportedly posted footage of it on Snapchat and supposedly tried to traffic the firearms. Then an adult tried to cover it up.

While the judge didn’t know about the situation with the father and the kids, he reasoned that experience alone should have “provided her more wisdom on how to act” when it comes to her children. This was the time to set a foundation of right and wrong, he added, instead of following in the father’s footsteps.

Newton News previously reported Bruce was arrested alongside another parent, Brian Ray Hammer Sr., for helping three juveniles hide, conceal and/or alter the evidence related to the prosecution of their children; the teens were facing felony charges of burglary, reckless use of firearms and trafficking stolen firearms.

Criminal complaints show Bruce’s child was arrested and charged for the burglary last year. Officers were first alerted to the burglary in August 2024, which occurred at a home in southwest Newton. Guns and other items were stolen. Police investigated these incidents for several months.

Officers learned parents of some of the juveniles tried to hide evidence or conceal the crimes. Police obtained Snapchat records from the juveniles, associates and a witness. In the records, a phone call was video recorded. Bruce could be heard speaking on the phone.

She told the juveniles to “keep their mouths shut” and to “change your Snapchat.”

When police received the Snapchat records, they indicated the usernames of others involved had been changed recently.

Officers suspected the juveniles of the burglary as early as September 2024. In that same month, police issued a search warrant for the phone of one of the juveniles. Neither the juvenile nor Hammer were home at the time, so a copy of the warrant was left with a family member.

Social media messages obtained by police showed them that after the warrant was served Hammer offered to help the juvenile, even though he was aware of the felony crimes alleged. He instructed the child to deactivate their social media accounts and to not have their phone on them and to hide it from police.

When Hammer brought his child to the police department and officers asked about the child’s phone, the criminal complaint states that Hammer lied and told them his child does not have a phone.