Austin Daily Herald

Jason Jacob Waters, 24 of Austin, entered a guilty plea Monday in Mower County Third Judicial District Court.

Waters pleaded guilty to two felony counts stemming from a Nov. 13, 2002, incident in which he was a driver of a car involved in a drive-by shooting near the Austin Post Office.

A gun was fired into the air in an apparent attempt to intimidate another carload of individuals traveling along First Avenue SW.

When police pursued, the gun was thrown from the car into the street in front of Queen of Angels Catholic School. The driver, Waters, fled on foot, but was later captured.

Also found in the car driven by the defendant was a camcorder, which police said was stolen from a residence in an apparent planned attempt to settle payment for drug purchases.

In the camcorder was film of Waters and others doing drugs and playing with handguns.

Waters' sentencing scheduled for April 2.

Fire destroys barns

ROSE CREEK -- Fire destroyed three out-buildings at the Glenda Hammermeister residence at 21208 660th Ave. Monday night.

According to a Mower County Sheriff's Office report, the Rose Creek and Adams volunteer fire departments responded to the emergency at 7:15 p.m.

According to the victim, her 9-year-old son told her a light bulb exploded inside one of the buildings and ignited dry hay stored there.

Sheep from another building were evacuated without harm.

Estimated losses were $15,000 to the buildings and their contents.

Theft on Internet

An Austin man is reporting a possible Internet eBay theft.

According to an Austin Police Department report, Kaham Kame Kahmevosg reported he purchased a Solton Ketron keyboard last September.

The victim sent him a check for the full about of the listed price for the keyboard equipment.

When the equipment didn't arrive, he inquired of the Internet eBay seller, he was told by the North Hollywood, Calif. man he was waiting for the Austin man's check to clear.

After waiting five months without receiving the equipment, he notified police.

The victim said his loss is $1,756.

Tattoo was 'illegal'

A mother has successfully convinced Austin police to charge a woman with giving her daughter an illegal tattoo.

According to an Austin Police Department report, the mother said her 15-year-old daughter received the tattoo in the 500 block of Fourth Avenue SW.

The woman who gave the teenager girl a tattoo was neither licensed or registered, according to the police investigation.

In the police report, the mother said the tattoo her 15-year-old daughter received on her knee was given in unsanitary conditions by an unlicensed tattoo artist and was "ugly."