Dr. Ian Roberts, superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district, was arrested by ICE agents on a fugitive warrant after allegedly fleeing and abandoning his vehicle.
An Iowa school district superintendent living in the United States illegally who also faces weapons charges was arrested Friday, authorities said.
Ian Andre Roberts, who heads the Des Moines Public Schools—the largest school district in the state—was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pursued Roberts after he sped away, authorities said.
They later found his vehicle abandoned, and an Iowa State Patrol K-9 was called in to help search for him.
„After a search of the area, the subject was located in the brush approximately 200 yards south of where the vehicle was abandoned“, an ICE statement said.
Inside the vehicle, authorities found $3,000 in cash, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and a loaded Glock 19 firearm, ICE said.
„This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement“, said ICE Enforcement Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson. „This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats. How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.
