A Sigourney man was arrested Saturday evening on multiple charges, including a felony drug offense, after officers discovered a large quantity of marijuana during an arrest for separate charges.
Shawn Howard, 49, was charged with Failure to Affix a Drug Stamp, a Class D felony; Possession of a Controlled Substance — Marijuana, Third or Subsequent Offense, an aggravated misdemeanor; Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order — Contempt, a simple misdemeanor; and Interference with Official Acts, a simple misdemeanor. The incident occurred Saturday, April 4th at approximately 7:45 p.m. in the 1200 block of South Lillian Street in Ottumwa.
According to court documents, Howard was initially arrested on separate charges. After being placed under arrest, he directed officers to an open cabinet to retrieve his wallet. While looking for the wallet, officers observed a large quantity of packaged marijuana in plain view. The marijuana weighed 199.4 grams—well above the 42.5-gram threshold that requires a drug tax stamp under Iowa law—and no tax stamp was affixed. Court records indicate Howard has three prior drug-related convictions from 1999, 2001, and 2022.
Court documents also state that Howard had moved into the victim’s camper without her knowledge and was on her property at the time of the arrest. Officers observed Howard make several phone calls to the victim in their presence, despite an active no-contact order between the two that has been in place since 2022.
Additionally, court records state that after officers informed Howard he had a valid arrest warrant, he repeatedly failed to comply with their instructions and made movements toward a cabinet, the contents of which were unknown to officers. A taser was deployed and Howard was taken into custody. His actions were determined to have interfered with officers performing their lawful duties.
Howard is being held on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 15th. An additional no-contact order has been requested in the case.
