A Wednesday night domestic disturbance in rural Guthrie Center led to an assault charge against a Guthrie Center man as well as the seizure of a cache of drugs and weapons.
Robert James Fuller, 43, of 2345 Redwood Road, Guthrie Center, was charged with first-offense domestic abuse assault as well as possession with intent to deliver greater than 5 grams of methamphetamine, first-offense possession of a controlled substance-marijuana, keeping a premises for controlled substance usage, drug tax stamp violation and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The incident began about 10:15 a.m. in the 2300 block of Redwood Road, where a Guthrie County Deputy Sheriff responded a domestic disturbance at the Firefly Creek Ranch.
The deputy made contact with the victim, who said Fuller began “punching her in the head and dragging her by the hair across the floor” in the course of a dispute, according to court records.
The deputy observed on the victim “marks on her back and marks on her left and right hand” and “marks on top of her head in the hairline,” according to court records.
In the course of the investigation, the deputy “observed drug activity taking place inside” the residence, and a search warrant was ordered by the Guthrie County District Court, according to court records.
The search of the apartment disclosed a “black zip-up pouch” containing more than “60 baggies for packaging of controlled substances, miscellaneous paraphernalia and a digital scale” as well as “a stash bag full of green marijuana plant material” and “two long guns,” according to court records.
A floor safe was found in the residence, which members of the Panora Volunteer Fire Department opened using heavy-duty hydraulic tools. The safe disclosed “a loaded .380 handgun” and a zip lock bag with about “1.5 ounces of a crystal substance that field tested positive as methamphetamine,” according to court records.
“This significant seizure of methamphetamine and firearms demonstrates the
commitment of the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office to keep Guthrie County safe,” Guthrie County Sheriff J. Marty Arganbright said of the arrest.
Arganbright said his agency was assisted in the investigation by the Panora Police Department, Panora Volunteer Fire Department, Iowa Department of Natural Resources-Law Enforcement Division and the Guthrie County K9 Unit.
Fuller is held in the Guthrie County Jail on a $40,000 cash or surety bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Feb. 18 in Guthrie County District Court.
Fuller was convicted of assault causing bodily injury in 1998 in Guthrie County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is innocent until and unless proven guilty.
