Wayland man tased, arrested on charge of interference with official acts

MT. PLEASANT — On Thursday, Aug. 29 at approximately 11:36 a.m., the Henry County Sheriff's Office received a report of suspicious activity in the 1800 block of Courtland Avenue in Mt. Pleasant.

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The report stated that a male subject tried to get into a side-by-side, but then kept walking west on Old Highway 34. Henry County Sheriff Deputy Jesse Bell located a subject matching the description given walking west in the 1600-grid of Old Highway 34.

According to Bell’s report, the subject, later identified as Clarence Lewis, 51 of Wayland, refused to cooperate with his investigation into the suspicious activity. In Bell’s account of events, he states that Lewis would not stop walking away from him and refused to give his name.

When Bell advised Lewis that he would be detained for interfering with his investigation, he stopped and “squared up” with the deputy. Lewis then began walking away again. When Bell attempted to detain Lewis, he resisted by pulling away, struggling against the deputy, and running away multiple times, according to the deputy’s account.

Bell finally took Lewis into custody after deploying his taser. Lewis was arrested for interference with official acts (simple misdemeanor) and transported to the Henry County Jail.

***A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.***

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com