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MUSCATINE Iowa – Two individuals have been arrested and a third is being sought following an investigation into an alleged assault that occurred on April 9, 2023, according to the Muscatine Police Department (MPD).

MPD officers responded to a report of an assault at the Muscatine Walmart, 3003 N. Highway 61, at approximately 11:33 a.m. Sunday, April 9, 2023. A subsequent investigation established that two males had assaulted a third male causing an injury that required medical attention.

As a result of the investigation, the following individuals have been arrested and charged for their involvement with the incident:

Duran Flowers Jr. – 08/05/94 – 1816 Logan St. C1, Serious Assault (causing bodily injury), Simple assault, and Disorderly Conduct.

Charlene Rene Thompson – 12/16/88 – 1816 Logan St. C1, Theft in the 5th degree.

In addition, an arrest warrant has been filed for the arrest of:

Emanuel Matthew Ellis – 05/26/04 – Address unknown, Serious Assault (causing bodily injury) and Disorderly Conduct.

All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Anyone who believes they may have additional information related to this incident is encouraged to call Officer Cesar Cabrera at (563) 263-9922 ext. 266.

MUSCATINE, Iowa – A third generation firefighter will be promoted to Fire Lieutenant by the Muscatine Fire Department Thursday. Spencer Ripperger, a six-year veteran of the MFD, will be officially installed as a Fire Lieutenant during a ceremony at Station One at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

“I am excited to step into this leadership role,” Ripperger said. “There are so many great opportunities with this department.”

Ripperger will be assigned to Station Two located on Stewart Road and is a member of the Hazardous Incident Response Team (HIRT), a special response multi-disciplined team that is prepared to serve citizens in the areas of hazardous materials, confined space rescue, high angle rope rescue, trench rescue, water/ice rescue, and clandestine lab clean up.

Among his other duties will be overseeing the HAZMAT unit that will respond to incidents in a five-county area (Muscatine, Louisa, Henry, Washington, and Keokuk counties).

“Every member of this department train in the different types of special responses, along with training to enhance their firefighting and EMT skills,” Ripperger said.

That includes department members who attend specialty training monthly and then return to the Muscatine Fire Department to help train staff. Ripperger recently led a team of six at a 40-hour confined space rescue class hosted by the Davenport Fire Department and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Muscatine, Davenport, and Rock Island Arsenal firefighters took part in the class. That team included Ripperger and firefighters Reece Hall, Ben Barrett, Kyle Davis, Colton Pauls, and Michael Fleming.

Training for a variety of high-risk rescues is a key part of the job for firefighters and firefighter/EMTs including high-angle rescues, ice/water rescues/ trench rescues. Firefighters also train in auto extrication, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials, and ambulance transport.

Ripperger’s grandfather was a volunteer firefighter and his father just retired as a member of the Davenport Fire Department.

“My wife (Sarah) was extremely excited about the promotion,” Ripperger said. “And now we have another generation that want to be firemen including our sons Huxson (4) and Weston (2).”