• Joni M. Riesberg, 38, of Monroe, was charged with domestic abuse/assault for an incident that occurred around 11:52 p.m. on May 29 in a Newton residence. Newton Police Department responded to a possible domestic, and upon arrival made contact with Riesberg who appeared to be very intoxicated. Officers spoke with the victim, who claimed to have been pushed by Riesberg when he came home. The victim had marks on their right arm that appeared to be scratch marks from a human. Riesberg was taken to the Jasper County Jail.
• Cheyenne R. Meyer, 21, of Des Moines, was charged with second-degree theft, identity theft, possession of drug paraphernalia for an incident that occurred at 11:59 a.m. May 28 near the 1600 block of West 19th Street South in Newton. Meyer was found to be in possession of stolen Chevy Malibu, along with 18-year-old Casey Allison of Newton. The vehicle was located behind the Days Inn and was called in by hotel staff because it was parked in a remote location and did not belong to their hotel guests. Meyer told police she was in the process of buying the vehicle but was unable to provide the name of the person she was buying it from, nor was she able to produce a bill of sale. The registered owner was contacted and gave permission for his vehicle to be searched. Officers found six marijuana pipes and two methamphetamine pipes, all of which had burnt residue on them, records say. Meyer was advised of her rights and admitted ownership to everything found in the car. Two of the pipes were located in a red and black duffle bag, which Meyer claimed ownership of. A number of credit cards were located in the center counsel of the vehicle. One of the credit cards bore the name of the registered owner of the car. Meyer claimed some of them belonged to her passenger’s cousin and mother. When shown the card bearing the name of the registered owner of the stolen vehicle, Meyer said she found it on the ground a couple days ago and attempted to use it but was unsuccessful. Meyer was taken to the Jasper County Jail.
• Jason T. Purtillo, 37, was charged with fifth-degree theft May 19 near the 1900 block of First Avenue East. At about 6 p.m., Newton Police Department responded to a shoplifting call at Kwik Star. Purtillo can be seen on security camera at about 5:28 a.m. May 19 walking into the gas station and approaching the beer fridge. After attempting to open the fridge and finding it looked, Purtillo can be seen grabbing a bottle of Pink Moscato wine and exiting the Kwik Star without paying.
• Terrance T. Russell-Jones, 29, and Janessa L. Oldenburger, 23, both of Newton, were charged with two counts of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person for an incident that occurred March 30. At approximately 2:20 p.m. March 30, two juveniles’ hair samples were screened for the presence of illegal narcotics-related to an ongoing investigation in the Department of Human Services. A five-year-old had tested positive for the presence of THC. A 19-month-old had tested positive for the presence of both THC and Cannabidiol. The children were in the care of Russel-Jones and Oldenburger.
• Michael S. Plumb, 28, of Newton was arrested at 1:41 a.m. May 19 near the 1400 block of West Second Street North on two Jasper County warrants. One warrant was for failure to appear on an original charge of driving while license suspended, and the other warrant was for failure to appear for a probation violation hearing. Plumb was taken to jail.
• Anna M. Ramos, 49, of Newton was arrested at 12:17 a.m. May 19 near the 1300 block of West 16th Street South on a Jasper County warrant for failure to appear for a pretrial conference on an original charge of false reporting of an indictable offense to a public entity. Ramos was taken to jail.
• Jessica R. Martinez, 38, of Newton was charged with false report of indictable offense to public entity, providing false identification information, driving while license suspended and malicious prosecution for an incident that occurred at 12:33 a.m. on Feb. 6. According to police reports, Martinez was traffic stopped by an officer in a marked patrol vehicle for not having a functioning brake light. Martinez did not have any form of identification with her and was asked by the officer to identify herself with her name and date of birth. Martinez provided her sister’s name and date of birth, records say. The sister’s driving status was barred. The sister’s information was entered into a complaint and affidavit for driving while barred. Martinez signed the complaint. At a later date, the sister was informed she had a failure to appear warrant for the aforementioned offense. Further investigation determined Martinez had used her sister’s information during the original traffic stop. Jasper County Jail mug shot photos were used to confirm the identity of the sister and Martinez alongside an officer’s bodycam footage. Examination of Martinez’s actual driving status at the time of the original stop determined she was suspended for three non-payments of Iowa fines.