Police Blotter

Newton Police

Department

• Ashley C. Bracy, 22, of Grinnell and 36-year-old Christopher M. Ratcliff of Monroe were arrested and charged with fifth-degree theft at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday after the duo allegedly stole $70.61 in merchandise from Walmart. According to a police report, store employees stopped the subjects in the store’s parking lot before police arrived. After an investigation, police took both Bracy and Ratcliff to the Jasper County Jail.

• Dustin E. Schmidt, 21, of Newton was arrested and charged with multiple drug charges at 12:12 a.m. Wednesday after police found him asleep in his vehicle with the headlights on. According to a police report, officers had trouble waking the subject before a search of his vehicle revealed several controlled substances, including marijuana and a baggie containing eight hydrocodone pills and one caplet of morphine. Police said that a snorting straw and smoking pipe also were found during the investigation in the 600 block of South Third Avenue East. Schmidt was charged with possession of schedule II and schedule III controlled substances, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. An NPD spokesperson said Thursday that the case is still under investigation, and Schmidt was released to appear in court.

• A Newton couple was arrested and charged with violating a no contact order Tuesday after a verbal argument in the Newton Police Department lobby revealed the two were still residing together. According to a police report, Joshua A. Miller, 32, and Jannett L. Miller, 55, were arguing over an ongoing child custody dispute when they told police they still lived together — a violation of their active protective order. Both were taken to the Jasper County Jail.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. It is the policy of the Newton Daily News to release the names of individuals charged with a crime who are 15 and older.