Authorities Seek Son of Boswell Family Friend in Attack
Authorities have arrested one suspect in connection with an attack Saturday at the farmhouse of Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) and are searching for another, the Des Moines Register reported Tuesday.
Cody John Rollins, 19, of Lamoni, Iowa, was arrested late Monday, Decatur County Sheriff Herbert Muir announced Tuesday afternoon, the newspaper reported.
Authorities said they are looking for David Palmer Dewberry, 20, of Fremont, Neb. He used to live in the Lamoni area, and his mother was a friend of Boswell’s wife, Dody, according to Muir.
“He knew his way around the farm,” Muir said. “I think he knew a little bit about what the house looked like.”
Authorities said they believe that Dewberry, wearing a ski mask and carrying a BB pistol, walked into Boswell’s farmhouse outside Lamoni, threatened Boswell’s daughter Cindy Brown and demanded money. They allege that Rollins was the getaway driver.
Boswell, 77, was attempting to disarm the intruder when his 22-year-old grandson, Mitchell Brown, grabbed a shotgun from another room and pointed it at the assailant, scaring him away, according to a statement released Sunday by the Congressman’s office. Dody Boswell was also at the home at the time.
Barry Ferguson, an FBI supervisor from Des Moines, said authorities do not believe that the Congressman was targeted as a federal official. “All indications are at this point that this was a home invasion to get money, and that’s it,” he said.
Dewberry faces felony charges of burglary and assault while committing a felony, and Rollins faces three counts of first-degree robbery and charges of first-degree burglary, assault while participating in a felony and going armed with intent.
Rep. Boswell, who broke a rib in the scuffle with the intruder, thanked law enforcement officials for their work Tuesday.
“With today’s new developments, I know my family and my neighbors around the farm will rest easier with a suspect identified and another individual already under arrest. I have returned to my job in Washington, and I am confident in the authorities handling the investigation back in Iowa,” he said in a statement.