By William Morris, Des Moines Register
A Muscatine woman has been sentenced to prison after vandalizing Hispanic businesses with swastikas, making a bomb threat and other misconduct.
Alisa Staats, 30, faced a slew of charges after her arrest in January. Police said she had targeted at least three local restaurants as well as Muscatine City Hall, a public school and the Muscatine Community College, to which Staats made a phone call threatening to detonate a bomb. She also was charged with making threats against the children of a police officer involved in her arrest.
Photos from one restaurant, which serves Puerto Rican food, showed several swastikas and a message saying “we don’t want you here.”
The vandalism drew widespread condemnation, with Muscatine Mayor Brad Bark saying on Facebook that the attacks “are absolutely disgusting and have no place here in Muscatine.” He called on the community to support the affected restaurants.
Staats, who was released on bond to obtain mental health treatment in February, court records show, agreed to plead guilty to all charges in April, including eight charges bearing hate crime enhancements. The plea agreement called for her to be sentenced to prison on all charges, running concurrently, and for all fines to be suspended due to her incarceration.
On May 2, Judge Elizabeth O’Donnell sentenced Staats in accordance with that agreement. She will serve up to five years in prison for her most serious charge, a felony criminal mischief conviction for throwing bricks at the Susan Clark Junior High causing more than $3,200 in damage, and all other prison terms will be discharged at the same time.
Staats’ attorney did not return a message seeking comment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 715-573-8166.
Stay in the know with stories that matter — visit HolaAmericaNews.com for the latest news, culture, and community updates!
Facebook Comments
