A Vinton woman is charged with the embezzlement of nearly $300,000 after an investigation into missing money from a car dealership. Vinton police say Ervin Motor Company contacted them last month after noticing suspicious activity in their business checking account. An investigation showed that an employee, Kelly Ann Banghart, 56, of Vinton, had been stealing money for several years from the business. Police say Ms. Banghart stole $295,608.31 from Ervin Motor's bank account between May 2015 and August 2019. Investigators say Ms. Banghart used the funds to make unauthorized payments towards her personal credit cards. She admitted to investigators that she had stolen the funds and was charged with first-degree theft.

Two men have been arrested for the murder of a Des Moines man shot whose body was found in a homeless camp near downtown Des Moines. At the time, police had said 23-year-old Marshal Johnson's body had been "cleverly concealed" behind an abandoned manufacturing plant. Police have also shed more light on how the two suspects, Yancy Freland, 46, and Bryan Norris, 26, killed and then tried to dispose of his body. Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek said in press release that in the days following July 26, Mr. Norris shot Mr. Johnson in the head and Mr. Freland shot him in the torso. Mr. Norris then cut the victim's neck with a sharp object before the two suspects wrapped his body in plastic and partially buried his remains. Investigators say over the next several days, Mr. Norris and Mr. Freland tried several times to burn his body before completely burying his remains, which were found on Oct. 8. The two suspects have been behind bars for more than a month.