Details of the unusual drug investigation that turned into a shootout in a trailer park east of Iowa City leaving one man dead have finally been released. Names of some of the officers involved have also been released.
According to a report, two agents of the Johnson County Drug Task Force were conducting an undercover operation at the trailer park. They were pretending to purchase narcotics at the home of the suspects.
24-year old Ivan Hardemon, the man who was killed in the shooting, told the officers to go back into the trailer. Two men came out of the back of the trailer with their faces covered. They were wielding weapons. The two men with their faces covered are believed to be 21-year old Norman Dudley and 20-year old John Mulbah.
Hardemon pulled out a handgun and ordered the men to search the agents. Stepleton was armed, and he moved against the wall to prevent the masked men from taking it. Hardemon pointed a gun to Stepleton's head and made threats. Stepleton then acted, shooting Hardemon.
Hardemon was killed in the incident and 22-year old Demarco Dudley was wounded. He was also present. He fled, as did the two other men. Dudley was apprehended quickly. Mulbah was apprehended the next night after a standoff and Norman Dudley turned himself in.
According to the Des Moines Register website, agent Daniel Stepleton was responsible for the fatal shooting. He acted in a life-or-death situation as the other man had a gun on him. His actions have been deemed appropriate, as he saved his own life and that of his partner.
Stepleton and another man are on paid administrative leave after the incident. It is unknown as of yet how anyone else reacted to the incident and where the other agents were at the time.
According to a report, two agents of the Johnson County Drug Task Force were conducting an undercover operation at the trailer park. They were pretending to purchase narcotics at the home of the suspects.
24-year old Ivan Hardemon, the man who was killed in the shooting, told the officers to go back into the trailer. Two men came out of the back of the trailer with their faces covered. They were wielding weapons. The two men with their faces covered are believed to be 21-year old Norman Dudley and 20-year old John Mulbah.
Hardemon pulled out a handgun and ordered the men to search the agents. Stepleton was armed, and he moved against the wall to prevent the masked men from taking it. Hardemon pointed a gun to Stepleton's head and made threats. Stepleton then acted, shooting Hardemon.
Hardemon was killed in the incident and 22-year old Demarco Dudley was wounded. He was also present. He fled, as did the two other men. Dudley was apprehended quickly. Mulbah was apprehended the next night after a standoff and Norman Dudley turned himself in.
According to the Des Moines Register website, agent Daniel Stepleton was responsible for the fatal shooting. He acted in a life-or-death situation as the other man had a gun on him. His actions have been deemed appropriate, as he saved his own life and that of his partner.
Stepleton and another man are on paid administrative leave after the incident. It is unknown as of yet how anyone else reacted to the incident and where the other agents were at the time.
Please login to post.