Two Des Moines women were arrested shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve when they were observed allegedly attempting to burglarize a residence in the 2600 block of McKinley Street in Perry.
Tia Marie Dereus, 26, of Des Moines was charged with attempted third-degree burglary and unlawful possession of a prescription drug.
Tracie Lynn Sease, 48, of Des Moines was charged with attempted third-degree burglary and unlawful possession of a prescription drug.
The incident began about 11:45 p.m. when a caller to the Perry Police Department reported seeing Dereus and Sease removing a screen from an apartment window and “trying to break through the air conditioning unit.”
Officers responded and found the would-be burglars outside the apartment window. According to court records, “The screen was off leaning up against a bush, and the air conditioning unit was out of the wall.”
The officers judged that “the access appeared large enough to gain entry to the apartment.”
The officers made contact with the property owner, who indicated “the previous tenant was no longer allowed at that residence and that a notice of abandonment was left on the door in November,” according to records.
Dereus and Sease told the officers their object was “to retrieve items in the apartment that belonged to a deceased friend” and “that if the officers had not shown up, one of them would have gone into the residence.”
Dereus was allegedly found to have a prescription bottle, labeled as Methocarbamol 500mg, on her person.
Sease was allegedly found to have a number of loose pills, determined to be Clonazepam 1mg, on her person.
Dereus and Sease are each held at the Dallas County Jail on a $3,000 cash or surety bond while awaiting an initial appearance in Dallas County District Court..
Dereus was convicted of second-degree theft and forgery in 2015 in Dallas County District Court. She was convicted of fifth-degree criminal mischief in 2016 in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
