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GoogleFive Sioux City men were arrested Sunday night in connection to a reported armed burglary at Frank Tritz's home about a mile northeast of Le Mars.
Ivan Flores, 18, Armando Valentin, 21, Michael Dale Carson, 22, Ricardo Ortiz, 18, and David Zamora, 16, face charges of first degree burglary, a class B felony along with other charges, for allegedly attempting to burglarize the Tritz home using a knife.
But Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo said the attempted burglars didn't get away with a thing.
According to Van Otterloo, the suspects confronted a woman at the residence.
"She had gone into the bedroom and closed the door," Van Otterloo said. "They (the alleged burglars) attempted to get in the door, and she began yelling and screaming. She started yelling for Frank, whose residence it is. I think they were probably scared off with that, knowing there was another male in the house that was going to be confronting them very soon."
The five men left without taking anything, Van Otterloo said.
Then the 911 call was placed.
Because the home was close to the sheriff's office, officers were able to arrive within a minute or two, Van Otterloo said.
At that point, the suspects were driving away from the home.
"They probably saw headlights approaching off of the highway and may have suspected someone was coming, and maybe they saw the red lights going," the sheriff said. "They attempted to take a left and basically ran it into the snowbank. It wasn't damaged or rolled over or anything."
At that point two of the men were apprehended.
Tracking down the rest involved a little police work.
"We used the K-9 unit, good old fashioned following the tracks in the snow, and also with the thermal imaging camera that was brought over from the Remsen Police Department," Van Otterloo said.
Tracks and the trained dog led the officers to the third suspect.
The final two men were tracked to an abandoned farm area, then west into the Floyd River area headed toward Highway 60.
"With the thermal imaging we were able to detect them in a grove of trees along the river and we approached and apprehended them," Van Otterloo said.
The suspects were not intoxicated, Van Otterloo said.
The four adults were taken to the Plymouth County jail and held on a $100,000 bond, and the juvenile was taken to the Youth Emergency Services Center in Cherokee.
"The good guys won this time. We were at the right place at the right time with enough manpower. We set up our perimeter the way we should have and consequently were able to get all five of them. It was a very well coordinated effort with the sheriff's office and the police departments."
Van Otterloo credited Deputy (Aaron) Leusink for doing an excellent job as one of the first ones on the scene.
"It turned out extremely well for us," the sheriff said.
Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff Tuesday praised members of local law enforcement agencies for their cooperative efforts in taking into custody the five suspects.
Expressing his gratitude to members of the Plymouth County sheriff's office and the Le Mars and Remsen police departments Kirchoff said the arrest of the five men exemplified the dedicated public service of and cooperative efforts of the three local departments.
Kirchoff's commendation made during Tuesday's Le Mars city council session also encouraged citizens to express their thanks as well to public safety representatives for their continued service to the community.
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Good job guys. Now if we could only find those peskie bank robbers we would be in business...
lol Huskerfan too funny
ConfusedParent has me confused...lol
Good Job Deputy Leusink!
The traditional and proper role of Law Enforcement.
I finish things, thats what I do (Clint Eastwood Grand Torino) Great movie!!!! These punk gang bangers are going to meet their maker, they will step on the wrong people one day and be gone, I keep a 9mm fully loaded on my nightstand just for punks like these!!! Thank God we live in America and our fore fathers faught and some died for the freedom to defend ourselves and were smart enough to put it in the constitution.
Don't worry Batman will save us!!! Turn on the Bat signal.. LOL
Don't be scared. Thats what criminals rely on. When they know your scared they've got you. Show no mercy and fight back.
Just remember these shameless criminals will be punished, if not by the law, but by the hand of God. No one gets away just remember that!
Confused parent seems a little paranoid for me....
This wasnt random...........you come into town to rob a person and you drive & turn & drive & turn to get to a random place........please.....why that house?, why not stay on the south end of town, there are beautiful houses there? Believe me there is a reason.........we dont know because they dont want anyone to know. And confused parent........you sound ridiculous.
I must say right now I am FURIOUS with you "Clear Thinker"
I can not believe you could say such a thing about the Tim Hayden Letter! I am disturbed as to why on earth you would want to read that!
Lindsay was our babysitter and a Deeply loved child by my family! She was an AMAZING child with such a big heart for our children! Shawn was also apart of our lives. He would come to babysit as well at times! They both were funny, loving, sarcastic and personality filled children!
I am hurt that you can sit here and assume that you can demand such things that have no need for your ears or eyes to read! How dare you state such a thing on here to compare it to a group of heartless, thugs who are trying to prove a gang related point!
Why do we need the information on the Hayden case? It is closed for a GOOD REASON!!!
Tim did a VERY selfish thing and broke so many of our hearts. Why do you feel it necessary for the community to read that letter? What will it solve? What will we all gain from it?
A man who was VERY Sick and disturbed did the unthinkable. That is all this community needs to know and should know!
I am sick that this community is so darn nosy that they can't just let things lay! Sometimes the gossip line needs to be CUT! When it comes to such hurtful and painful things we just need to let it go!
I am offended that you would throw such a brutal murder into the lines of this cross fire because why? You are curious as to what Tim had to say!? You Don't Need To Know! Nor Does Anyone Else!!! Plain and Simple..............................
As a friend of the family and hurt individual still by the events that happened in the Hayden home! I hope you respect that others who read this, will too be offended by your rude and cruel comments!
Not Everyone's Business is Your Business!
Mr. Raymond did this community a Justice by keeping that letter concealed. Just imagine the heart aches and tears that would only add to the hurt these children will be going through on graduation day as it is. but to have that letter publicized is MORONIC!
Shawn would have graduated last year but he didn't walk up to get his diploma and he isn't in college right now enjoying the life with his friends! This year Lindsay should be walking up to receive her diploma as well but she is not! It is going to be a tough time for these kids to know she should be with them! So please keep your Hayden comments to yourself.
Not Knowing In This Case Is Much Better Then Living With The Disturbing Details!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You
Confused Parent
"MommyInIowa"
I am possibly paranoid but with good reason!
Growing up in a Large city where it was gang violence out your front window, you learn to see the signs of these things!
So maybe you can handle living with your blinders on but maybe some of us understand that little communities don't stay so quiet for long! Things change and our perfect little world does get flipped upside down!
So we can all sit here and deny deny deny that there is gang activity in our town and "Oh Wow We Can Grab Our Riffles and Park them By Our Doors" but in reality it's bigger then you imagine!
Do your research about it!
Scared? Yes I am because when you see these things happen and you can't get those images out of your head. You begin to fear the safety of your children. Maybes it's just my motherly instinct but at least I have one!
So criticize if you must but I know I'm not naive and it's time to see the bigger picture!
If we don't grasp control and work together then a community is not what we have. It will be as easily over ruled and taken under!
Sincerely,
Confused Parent
Well, Confused Parent, I might get your point if I was a small town girl. The fact is I grew up in La Mesa California...(Thats a suburb of San Diego if you wern't sure.) I have been exposed to gangs much of my life. Most of them Mexican Mafia types. Frankly, I think you can rest assured our little town of LeMars is still quite safe...Simmer down. I dont want you to have a heart attack.
Well MommyInIowa I was born and raised in San Bernardino California "Rialto and Colton" So pretty sure I am well aware of the gang violence and considering my father was in the mafia, I understand ALLOT better then you ever could!
So when I stress my concerns they are valid! After living in the life I have and the stresses that go along with it. I have every right to be as you put it PARANOID! Basically because the life style my father raised me in was the life style of run, hide and NEVER trust anyone!
Not a life style I want my children to deal with nor ever need to be a part of!
I don't want to play this one up game with you because basically it's pointless. I've seen, heard and a will NEVER forget the things from my childhood I just don't want my children to witness them either!
We need to be alert of whats going on and I stress it highly!
Ok. Well, I don't think I would be telling people that me father was in the mafia...It doesn't justify your paranoia, but in fact makes you seem CRAZY.....
LOVE HOW THE PAPER TAKES OUT CERTAIN THINGS!!!!!!
AMAZING!!!
Put it back otherwise don't allow people to write if you are only going to remove un-harmful posts!!!
RIDICULOUS!!!!!
So to you both that posted apparently we can only say certain things!!! I did respond back but its a waste of time to do so if they wont let the opinions of others be posted!!!
ahhh...so much for the freedom of speech..
This is by far the weirdest thread I have seen on this site....the Sentinel is inconsistent and "ConfusedParent" is...well...Confused...
Here is an appropriate quote from Larry the Cable Guy - "If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments."
Wow there seems to be a story within a story here.
After reading the story and the posts there seems to be a void in the post's between ConfusedParent and ClearThinker; not that I think their post's would have made a difference or changed what I would have posted, but the unabridged deleting of what as posted was a violation of our first amendment rights. If the Le Mars Sentinel, is going to allow comments on their web site, then they should restrain them selves to editing to the contents and not the context of the opinion's of what is being posted. If they what to edit the disparaging words like Nig@ar, G@@k, and Sp!ck iam fine with that... but to just delete a post on a bloog that they endorse is wrong.