Man in hit and run pleads not guilty
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A Burlington man accused in the hit and run death of a Middletown woman pleaded not guilty Monday.
Thirty-year-old Matthew Wayne Smith, charged with leaving the scene of a fatality accident, is set to stand trial June 10. He has waived his right to a speedy trial.
A pretrial conference on the case is slated for May 12.
On Jan. 29, a passing motorist on Old U.S. 34 found the body of a woman, later identified as 45-year-old Vicky L. Kerfoot of Middletown, in a gravel ditch alongside the south shoulder, 5 feet off the eastbound lane of the highway.
Des Moines County Sheriff’s detectives said Kerfoot was walking in the area the night she was struck by Smith, who was driving a 1999 Toyota Camry Solaris. The housing of the side mirror broke off the vehicle upon impact.
Smith told detectives shortly before his arrest he did not stop on U.S. 34 near Middletown late Jan. 28 after hitting “something” because he had been drinking.
Serial forger
pleads guilty
Prosecutors are expected to ask a judge to send a 31-year-old Lockridge woman, who has been convicted several times of forgery, to prison.
Carrie Elizabeth Moser on Monday pleaded guilty as a habitual offender on three counts of forgery. She will be sentenced April 14.
Assistant Des Moines County Attorney Lisa Taylor said prosecutors have agreed to jointly — with the defense — ask a judge to hand down 15 years for each count and the terms run concurrently with each other.
Moser has forgery convictions from Des Moines and Henry counties in separate cases from 2003 to 2006, including an escape by a felon conviction in Wapello County in May 2005. She is out on parole on a prior forgery conviction.
The case started with an Aug. 23 report police received from a Burlington man who said his bank informed him of suspicious activities regarding some of his checks, five of which were made out to Hy-Vee grocery store and gas station on Agency Street Aug. 12 for more than $1,000.
After being shown footage of the store’s surveillance camera, officers recognized Moser as the one writing the checks, having dealt with her in the past.
Investigators say Moser went shopping Aug. 18 for a new television, clothes and other items, racking up more than $900 at the Target Store in West Burlington using a debit card she allegedly stole from a Burlington resident.
Arson trial set
Andrew Kenneth McNeil, the 22-year-old Burlington man who authorities said tried to burn down his own house has pleaded not guilty to second-degree arson.
If a plea agreement is not reached, his case will go to trial May 6.
Police arrested McNeil last month after an investigation into a reported fire in his home at 1211 N. Eighth St. turned up multiple points of origin, which led detectives to believe the fire was more than accidental.
Firefighters noted upon their arrival, the ceiling tiles were still smoldering, which indicated the “fire had been freshly set.” Most of the flames already were extinguished at that time.
McNeil commented to investigators that he thought the ceiling tiles in his home were fire resistant, but denied he started the fire.
Man enters plea
Prison time is looming in the horizon for a 48-year-old West Burlington man.
The only remaining question in the case against Thomas Joseph Provenzano is whether a judge would accept the joint recommendation from attorneys to give him concurrent prison terms.
On Monday, Provenzano pleaded guilty to two of his cases where he is charged with one count each of third-offense possession of a controlled substance. He is facing no more than five years in prison for each charge.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed not to seek subsequent offender sentence enhancements against Provenzano.
Provenzano’s drug-related convictions date back to January 1987 when he was charged with possession of marijuana in Johnson County. Soon after, several offenses and convictions in different counties, including possession of a firearm by a felon in September 2000 in Jefferson County, were added to his list.
He was arrested in August when police found several prescription drugs on him without a prescription.
Provenzano had another contact with police in September when authorities responded in the 300 block of South Third Street on reports of a suspicious man walking in a yard.
Officers later found Provenzano walking along the railroad tracks at Third and Market streets.
Investigators recovered a pipe and a small plastic bag of crack cocaine on the ground where Provenzano allegedly dropped them.
He is scheduled to be sentenced April 7.
Trial reset for teen
in sexual abuse case
The March 11 trial date for a Burlington teen accused of third-degree sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl has been moved to May 6.
However, prosecutors say they are ready to try the case against 17-year-old Kyle James Upton who authorities allege took advantage of the drunken teen last year.
Upton told investigators the act was consensual, and the girl was a “willing participant.” He said the girl decided not to go through with it.
However, the alleged victim told detectives she was awakened by Upton, who was on top of her, her pants and underwear where pulled off, and Upton was about to perform a sexual act, according to a sheriff’s report.
The trial is expected to last for three days, attorneys said.
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