Nootz, who has worked for Union Pacific and other railroads for 35 years, is telling people that members of the Freight Train Riders of America have been arrested in Boone County and were later dropped off at the Boone and Story County line by law enforcement, something that he would put an end to as sheriff. “They are criminals,” Nootz said of the travelers...All of this is interesting, but it got even more interesting in November 2012 when Candidate Nootz got himself arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree harassment and two counts of assault while displaying a weapon after he allegedly pointed a gun a local vagrants and threatened to shoot their dogs if they didn't leave the area. Nootz denied the accusations, admitting that he spoke with the men, but didn't point his gun at them. According to Ames Patch, he believes that homeless people would stay out of Story and Boone County if police officers began killing their dogs.
Nootz's campaign literature goes on to name six men who have been arrested for trespassing on the railroad's property since the summer of 2011 and a seventh man who was hitchhiking in Boone County.
Electronic court records show that the men have been charged with trespassing and a range of other crimes including stowing away in Boone County. The seventh man was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia after he was searched before being given a ride to the county line, according to Boone County Sheriff reports available online.
The Freight Train Riders of America gang isn't listed on the FBI's National Gang Threat Assessment, but it is listed in a research paper, “Problem of Gangs and Security Threat Groups (STG's) in American Prisons Today: A Special NGCRC Report” about prison gangs available from the National Criminal Justice Reference Center.
Needless to say, Nootz did not win his election.
Instead, it turns out that he was involuntarily committed to a mental institution and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. He subsequently entered a reduced written guilty plea. Nootz plead guilty to two counts of second-degree harassment. Prosecutors are recommending that he be sentenced to one year in prison for each count, but that those sentences be suspended. They are also recommending that he receive ongoing mental health treatment and that he be prevented from possessing guns.
In related news, apparently there is a "National Hobo Convention" every August in Britt, IA. The next one is scheduled for August 8-11, 2013. People show up for a parade and for a 5K and a 10K walk/run. Not only that, but one can get crowned as Hobo King or Hobo Queen. Now that I know it exists, I'll be sure to write about the National Hobo Convention later this year.