A Columbus Junction man was arrested last week after investigators say he drove a van dragging the body of a deceased man tied to the vehicle with a cord before crashing the van into a ditch.
Salvador Castaneda, 58, was arrested by the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office on June 25 and charged with abuse of a corpse-mutilate/dismember to conceal a crime (class C felony).
Just before 4:30 p.m. on June 25, Louisa County dispatched received a 911 call that a white Chevrolet Astro van had crashed into a ditch near the 14000 block of R Avenue. During a search of the van, police found a cell phone with an alarm going off, a loaded handgun with the serial number scratched off, and a large bag of suspected marijuana.
Investigators soon discovered the body of Noe Ibarra-Tijerina, 58, in a nearby ditch what an electrical cord wrapped around his torso and a small puncture hole in the area of his right cheekbone, consistent with a small caliber gunshot wound.
Police also spoke with a witness who reported seeing the van dragging what appeared to be a body through the streets, and investigators also discovered blood and drag marks in the streets.
Castaneda is being held at the Louisa County Jail on $25,000 cash-only bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday at the Louisa County Courthouse in Wapello.