News : Local report of suspicious activity, plates show owner subject of arrest warrant

On 7-31-19, at about 10:51 AM, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call of suspicious activity near 600 E 11^th St. in Vinton.  The Sheriff’s Office responded as Vinton Police Officers were unavailable at the time.

The 911 caller reported that a light-colored Ford Econoline van was driving around the same block and stopping in front of multiple houses and looking around, and that caller could see two people in the vehicle.

The 911 caller did give a license plate of the vehicle.  A check of the given plate would show that the registered owner was the subject of an arrest warrant.

A Benton County Deputy arrived on scene and located the Ford Econoline van, occupied by 3 subjects.  While conducting his investigation, the Deputy encountered a language barrier and difficulty in identifying the subjects as none had any Iowa identification and presented foreign ID papers.  In an attempt to identify the subjects, a local US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer was contacted to assist in translation and verifying identification.  ICE would determine that 2 subjects were subject to removal and would be taken into custody by ICE.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office will not comment on any details of ICE’s investigation.