CAWPS

Iowa/Osceola County

Episode 9 · Posted October 8, 2026

Zero Turn

A crow mows a stranger's property in Iowa, rides the mower to the liquor store and gets pulled over on a county road. Then he puts it in reverse.

Alleged

What the complaint alleges

This episode is about a 30-year-old man.Here is what the criminal complaint says happened.

  • A man was operating a Toro zero-turn lawn mower on private property in Sibley, Iowa without permission on Saturday, August 1, 2026, and allegedly destroyed or damaged property, according to the criminal complaint as reported by KIWA Radio.
  • When the property owner confronted him, he refused to identify himself and left on the mower, the complaint says.
  • The owner later saw him at a liquor store in Sibley and called the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.
  • A deputy found him driving the mower west on 170th Street, swerving within the lane, and began a traffic stop.
  • He pulled onto the shoulder, then suddenly put the mower in reverse and backed toward the patrol vehicle. The deputy backed up to avoid being struck, the complaint says.
  • The deputy reported a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, an open beer near his feet and an opened whiskey shooter near his left hip.
  • A preliminary breath test showed 0.214, more than two and a half times Iowa's limit of 0.08.
  • At the sheriff's office he became agitated, belligerent and verbally abusive toward staff, who used a Taser before he was booked into the Osceola County Jail, according to the report.
  • He was charged with operating while intoxicated, assault on an officer, open container and fifth-degree criminal mischief. A preliminary hearing was set for August 12, 2026.
Where
Sibley, Osceola County, Iowa
When
August 1, 2026
Charges
Operating while intoxicated, assault on an officer, open container and fifth-degree criminal mischief
Status
Charged in Osceola County, Iowa. A preliminary hearing was set for August 12, 2026. We have not found a public report of what happened after that. There has been no conviction that we know of.

A complaint is an accusation. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The deputies' dialogue in the video is made up. The reports do not say what was damaged, so the flower bed and the garden gnome are ours. The tidy parking job, the cup holders, the mower in the evidence corner and the idea of mowing home to Minnesota are jokes. The deputies' lines are invented, but the report does say the deputy had to back up to avoid being struck. The crow has no subtitled line because the reports quote nothing he said.

The paperwork, explained

Transcript
  1. On screenSibley, Iowa. A Saturday in August.
  2. Deputy DaleLyle! We got a call from Iowa!
  3. Deputy LyleWe don't work in Iowa, Dale.
  4. Deputy DaleForm says Iowa.
  5. Deputy LyleNine months to retirement. Go ahead.
  6. Deputy DaleA property owner finds a crow mowing his land. Without permission.
  7. Deputy LyleDid he hire a crow?
  8. Deputy DaleHe did not.
  9. Deputy LyleHow's it look?
  10. Deputy DaleDestroyed or damaged. Form doesn't say which.
  11. Deputy DaleThe owner asks who he is. He refuses to identify himself.
  12. Deputy LyleHe mowed a man's lawn and wouldn't introduce himself?
  13. Deputy DaleThen he leaves the area. On the mower.
  14. On screenLATER THAT DAY
  15. Deputy DaleThe owner sees him again. At the liquor store.
  16. Deputy LyleHe drove a lawn mower to the liquor store.
  17. Deputy DaleHe parked it between the lines, Lyle.
  18. Deputy LyleAnd that's when the owner calls us.
  19. Deputy DaleThat's when.
  20. Deputy LyleNot when a crow was mowing his property.
  21. Deputy DaleMaybe he wanted to see how it turned out.
  22. Deputy DaleWe are in pursuit!
  23. Deputy LyleWe are idling, Dale.
  24. Deputy DaleCounty road. Westbound. He's swerving within his lane.
  25. Deputy LyleHe's got the whole lane. He's using it.
  26. Deputy DaleLights and siren!
  27. Deputy LyleHe can't hear the siren. He's on a mower.
  28. Deputy DaleHe's pulling onto the shoulder!
  29. Deputy LyleOpe. He's backing up.
  30. Deputy DaleHe's coming right at us, Lyle!
  31. Deputy LyleVery slowly.
  32. Deputy DaleWhat do we do?!
  33. Deputy LyleI'm going to back up.
  34. Deputy DaleWe just lost a chase to a lawn mower. In reverse.
  35. Deputy LyleWe did not lose. We repositioned.
  36. Deputy DaleStrong odor of an alcoholic beverage.
  37. Deputy LyleFrom the crow or the mower?
  38. Deputy DaleBreath. Form says breath.
  39. Deputy DaleOpen beer! Near his feet!
  40. Deputy DaleOpened whiskey shooter! Near his left hip!
  41. Deputy LyleThe mower has a cup holder?
  42. Deputy DaleIt has two, Lyle.
  43. Deputy LyleI've been buying the wrong mower.
  44. On screen0.214
  45. Deputy Dale0.214.
  46. Deputy LyleLimit?
  47. Deputy Dale0.08.
  48. Deputy DaleThat's over two and a half times. I did the math.
  49. Deputy LyleCan you even get a drunk driving charge on a lawn mower?
  50. Deputy DaleIn Iowa, a motor vehicle is anything self-propelled that is not on rails.
  51. Deputy LyleSo if he'd been on a train.
  52. Deputy DaleDifferent form.
  53. Deputy DaleOperating while intoxicated. Open container. Criminal mischief in the fifth degree.
  54. Deputy LyleWhat's the mischief?
  55. Deputy DaleThe lawn.
  56. Deputy DaleAnd assault on an officer.
  57. Deputy LyleWith the mower?
  58. Deputy DaleNo. That was later, at the jail. Form says agitated, belligerent and verbally abusive.
  59. Deputy LyleHe was rude to the jail staff?
  60. Deputy DaleVery.
  61. Deputy LyleNow I'm upset.
  62. Deputy DalePreliminary hearing is August 12.
  63. Deputy LyleDid we mail him a letter?
  64. Deputy DaleHe's in the jail, Lyle. I walked it over.
  65. Deputy DaleHe's from Minnesota.
  66. Deputy LyleThat's almost 200 miles.
  67. Deputy DaleDo you think he mowed the whole way?
  68. Deputy LyleNo, Dale.
  69. Deputy DaleIt would take about a day. I did the math.
  70. Deputy DaleCan I keep the mower?
  71. Deputy LyleNo.
  72. Deputy DaleIt's zero-turn, Lyle.
  73. Deputy LyleSo is this conversation.

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