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Last Updated: Dec 12, 2008 - 4:54:39 PM |
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VICTOR - The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office acted quickly in arresting two Victor teenagers they believe to be responsible for the burglary of an area home. The alleged thefts included a car and a handgun.
Andrew L. Gerard, 17, and Jordan T. Smith, 16, both of Victor, were arrested on November 19 and charged with burglary and theft. Smith was also charged with possession of a stolen weapon and Gerard was additionally charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. All of the charges against the young men are felonies.
According to the ICSO narrative, on late Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 18, Edna Hedlund returned to find her home had been forcibly entered and burglarized. Entry was made through a door, the door frame was splintered. A number of items had been stolen, including a handgun. Taken from the driveway was a 1986 Ford Crown Victoria that the Hedlunds were considering buying. The vehicle was registered to Roger Pawlak of Victor.
Shortly after the report, an Iowa County Sheriff’s deputy found the stolen Crown Victoria in the Lutheran Church parking lot in Victor. The vehicle had sustained damage. Items believed to be from the Hedlunds’ residence were found in the vehicle.
The following day investigators from the Sheriff’s Office followed leads that eventually led to the recovery of two handguns, ammunition, money and other items. Gerard and Smith were arrested and taken to the Central Iowa Detention Facility in Eldora.
For Edna Hedlund, the incident is a nightmare she had never conceived of happening.
“It’s scary,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like it could be real - but now every time I go home, I’m reminded that it was real. Every time I go home now I have to think about someone in my house.”
Upon arriving home, she knew something was wrong when she noticed the car was missing from her driveway.
“The day before, Roger Pawlak told me he wanted to sell the car,” Hedlund said. “I knew my grandson was looking for a car so Roger left it for me to take a look at it. When I came home, I saw the car was gone. I called my son but I knew that he didn’t have it.”
Hedlund’s son, a Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Deputy, confirmed that he did not have the car.
“They tried to steal the other car but they couldn’t get the garage door open,” she continued.
Hedlund and her husband Don had previously seen the young men on county-owned property just a quarter of a mile from her house. According to Hedlund, Gerard and Smith had built a fort and dug a six-foot deep hole. There was evidence that they were playing with guns and knives. Hedlund had contacted members of the Victor City Council regarding her concerns about the boys but the property was not under the jurisdiction of the city.
“My husband once said, ‘Those boys are going to be in this house before too long,’” she said. “That’s not a healthy thing that they were hanging around out there but the property belonged to the county so the city couldn’t do anything about it.”
In addition to having a son that is a sheriff’s deputy, the Hedlunds also have a grandson who is a police officer in the Des Moines area. But there was apparently no way to guard against a crime of opportunity.
“They broke in the back door,” she said. “They tracked mud through the whole house and they went through everything.”
Burglary is a crime that only a victim can truly understand. The violation of a home carries a potentially heavy emotional weight.
“I am very grateful to Deputy Todd Sauerbrei,” she said. “He did a great job here. He told me that I was one brave little woman for even going into the house when I saw what had happened. He also suggested that I go somewhere else to spend the night.”
With her husband away, Edna Hedlund spent that night with her son, the deputy. Less than 24 hours later, the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office had the suspects in custody.
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