By Brandon Hurley
Managing Editor
news@beeherald.com
A Jefferson resident is under investigation for sexual abuse following a string of illegal firearm and drug possession charges last week.
Richard Dean Tuhn, 43, attended a high school basketball game in Jefferson Tuesday, Feb. 1 after being arrested for felony possession of a firearm which was followed by an alleged act of sexual abuse before eventually attending the game.
Tuhn, who has a checkered criminal past, was arrested around 10 a.m. Feb. 1 for felony possession of a firearm – his four previous domestic assault convictions as well as an assault conviction restrict Tuhn from ever legally owning a firearm.
He was twice convicted in 2010 and twice more in 2014. He also has been found guilty of assault after punching a man in 2019 following an altercation between he, Tuhn and another person.
The 43-year old’s most recent troubles began after an investigation was instigated last month.Jefferson officers received reports of domestic abuse having occurred Jan. 17. Those same accusations claimed Tuhn was also cooking meth at his home on Vest Street. Another report was filed on Jan. 31, alleging Tuhn was in illegal possession of two rifles, though a criminal complaint suggests he had become leery of law enforcement finding his guns and transferred the weapons to a business in Grand Junction.
The Jefferson Police Department was granted a search warrant following the two claims of criminal mischief, and initiated said warrants on Feb. 1. The Jefferson Police Department was assisted by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol, deploying to locations in Grand Junction and in Jefferson.
Officers searched Tuhn’s residence on Vest Street in Jefferson and seized ammunition. The Sheriff’s Office simultaneously executed the second search warrant at 201 ½ E. Main Street in Grand Junction. Nothing of substantial evidence was found at this address.
During the second search, officers were informed Tuhn was outside and had forced a vehicle to stop, blocking the subjects from leaving on S Avenue, near the railroad crossing.
Officers and deputies headed to the scene, but Tuhn was no longer on S Avenue.
Jefferson officers did notice Tuhn’s vehicle traveling west on 237th Street toward Jefferson and performed a traffic stop on the S curves east of Jefferson. The officers arrested Tuhn and charged him with dominion/control of a firearm by a domestic abuse offender – a Class D Felony. His vehicle was towed to impound and was covered by the search warrant. During the search of the truck, more ammunition was located.
Tuhn was subsequently held in the Greene County jail for less than six hours, according to court documents, and was released around 3:30 p.m. Feb. 1. Court documents say he returned home to his residence on Vest Street, believing he was “owed sex because of the trouble started” by the person living with him. Tuhn was angered that the subject had spoken with law enforcement regarding Tuhn’s ongoing criminal investigation for possession of a firearm. A sexual act began in a consensual manner around 5:30 p.m., but proceeded beyond the other party’s approval soon after, ending with injuries to both subjects. Tuhn then showered and attended a basketball game at the Greene County High School, less than a few hours after imprisonment and his alleged sexual crime.
The alleged sexual abuse crimes were filed Feb. 2. Tuhn was arrested the next day, Feb. 3, but not for a charge of sexual assault. He was charged with several other criminal infractions, and booked into the Greene County jail for the second time in three days.
Officers jailed Tuhn again around 10 a.m. last Thursday for felony possession of a firearm, learning he was the owner of two rifles and was alleged to have stolen a black, Walther handgun. He allegedly sent texts to the owner of the handgun, saying the subject “was never going to see the gun again” and Tuhn planned to “shoot police officers and force officers to shoot him.” The owner of the handgun is the same person who reported the sexual assault case.
Officers with the Jefferson Police Department were able to pin-point the location of Tuhn’s cell phone, finding the person in question near the intersection of Grimmell Road and Lincoln Way. Tuhn was asked by law enforcement to withdraw both hands completely from his coat upon arrival, but only produced a single visible hand, which forced one officer to unholster his weapon and aim it at Tuhn.
Richard was eventually arrested on several charges in addition to felony possession of a firearm, including fourth degree theft (handgun), possession of a controlled substance, meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. Officers also located roughly four grams of marijuana in Tuhn’s possession at the Greene County jail. The drug was hidden inside a cigarette package and discovered during booking.
A Jefferson police officer interviewed Tuhn while he was in jail on Feb. 4 in relation to the sexual abuse claims. A warrant was issued.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9. The charge for third degree sexual abuse was handed out Saturday, Feb. 6 but was rescinded Tuesday, according to Iowa Courts Online.
Tuhn has a checkered criminal past, according to court records, highlighted by a few elongated stints in jail. He was charged by the Jefferson Police Department with first degree burglary Nov. 16, 2019 as well as a charge for assault causing bodily injury or mental illness. The burglary charge was eventually dismissed, but he was convicted for the assault claim, forced to serve 365 days in jail.
He also has several charges of domestic abuse assault, including a domestic abuse assault charge of impeding air or blood flow causing bodily injury in April of 2014 in Greene County, a charge which violated his probation.
Going back further, Tuhn was charged with second degree burglary, third degree mischief and child endangerment in July of 2010 in Greene County. The charges for burglary and child endangerment were dismissed, but he was found guilty of criminal mischief and was sentenced to two years in prison.