Arrest made in shots fired in mobile home park

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By Steven Martens and Times online staff | Thursday, July 24, 2008 |

A Clinton County Sheriff deputy watches over a vehicle matching the description from a report of shots fired into a mobile home at Winding Brook Mobile Home Park near DeWitt. The occupants abandoned the car at the Casey's General Store on 11th Street. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

UPDATED: DeWITT, Iowa — Clinton County Sheriff’s deputies have made an arrest in a disturbance at a DeWitt, Iowa, mobile home park that included gunshots and a chase.

Anthony Scott McFarland, 19, of Davenport, is charged with disorderly conduct and interference with official acts. Authorities were dispatched to the Winding Brook Trailer Park, 2210 260th Ave., DeWitt, about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday for a complaint of gunshots fired into a mobile home.

Five people were inside the mobile home at the time. None were injured.

While en route to the call, a deputy located a car matching the description of a car believed to be connected to the incident. The vehicle was eastbound on U.S. 30 headed for DeWitt. The car turned into Casey’s General Store where the occupants ran. One person was taken into custody after a brief foot chase.

About an hour later, a second person was found exiting a cornfield near U.S. 30 on the south edge of DeWitt. The juvenile was being held for questioning. No charges have been filed against him at this time.

Deputies are still seeking a third person for questioning.

The incident remains under investigation.

Sheriff’s deputies were assisted by the DeWitt Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Clinton County Attorney’s Office.

DeWitt shooting leads to chase, search

EARLIER STORY: DeWITT, Iowa — Chelsea Landers was just finishing putting on her makeup Wednesday afternoon when gunshots ripped through the mobile home where she and her boyfriend live northwest of DeWitt.

None of the five people in the mobile home were injured in the shooting about 1:40 p.m. at Winding Brook mobile home park, 2210 260th Ave., police said. The shooting led to a brief chase in DeWitt, where officers searched by foot and air for three men, catching two by late afternoon.

Landers’ boyfriend, Jeremaiah Fuller, 29, said three men fired repeatedly into the mobile home using handguns and that

14 shell casings were found outside. Fuller said someone in the home called 911 and gave a description of the blue passenger car the men were driving.

A Clinton County sheriff’s deputy spotted a vehicle matching the description headed east on U.S. 30 toward DeWitt and followed the car to the Casey’s General Store at 1515 11th St. in DeWitt, along with a DeWitt police officer, Clinton County Sheriff Rick Lincoln said. The men parked the car and fled on foot, Lincoln said.

One of the suspects was caught just south of the store and a second was caught near U.S. 30, Lincoln said. The third, described as a white male in his late teens to early 20s wearing dark shorts, was still being sought Wednesday night.

DeWitt Police Chief Gene Ellis said police were concentrating the search in an area south of the railroad tracks on the south edge of town. Police did not release names of the suspects Wednesday night.

Landers, 18, said she believes her ex-boyfriend, also the father of the child she is three-months-along in carrying, followed through on a threat he made earlier in the day to send men to shoot them.

“He called about an hour before it happened and threatened that he was going to send somebody out here,” Landers said.

Fuller said he began dating Landers about a month ago, and that her ex-boyfriend was angry about their relationship. He said he argued with the ex-boyfriend on the phone earlier Wednesday and challenged the man to come to his home and fight him.

“Instead, they came out here shooting,” he said.

Another resident of the mobile home park, Jaime Fausey, was outside her home when she heard the shots.

“I was standing outside with my boy playing catch and all of a sudden I heard ‘pap, pap, pap, pap, pap,” Fausey said. She then saw a car with three men leaving the mobile home park, but it didn’t appear to be in a hurry.

“They weren’t flying out of here or nothing,” she said. “They were just chillin’, sitting in the car.”

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.