Rock Rapids, Iowa — A Rock Rapids woman who was charged with a drug-related crime has been sentenced.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office advises that the case arose when their office received a call in February alleging the theft of medication. During the course of the investigation, investigators from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals- Medicaid Fraud division charged 30-year-old Cassandra Joy VanBerkum of Rock Rapids with prohibited acts – schedule 1, 2, or 3 controlled substance, a class C felony. She was also charged with tampering with records, an aggravated misdemeanor.
VanBerkum originally pled not guilty but changed her plea to guilty in a plea agreement. This past week Judge Carl Petersen sentenced VanBerkum to a deferred judgment and three years of probation. A civil penalty of $1000 was suspended, and VanBerkum will have to provide a sample for DNA profiling. She was also sentenced to “other miscellaneous” penalties. The charge of tampering with records was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
