Iowa DNR files arson charges against Williamsburg man for illegal Hawkeye Wildlife Area fires

A two-month investigation by state Department of Natural Resources conservation officers has resulted in criminal charges being brought against a Williamsburg man.

According to DNR officials, Jereme Goltz faces two counts of third-degree arson, felony possession of a controlled substance- methamphetamine (third or subsequent offense), and littering.

During July and August, DNR officials noticed an uptick in the number of illegal fires being set in parking lots, fields, and woodlands located within the 14,000-acre Hawkeye Wildlife Area.

The fires damaged trees, fields and parking lot posts and destroyed multiple hay bales owned by a farmer leasing a portion of the state land.

DNR conservation officers, along with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa State Patrol, executed a search warrant at Goltz’s Williamsburg residence where they seized electronics, evidence relating to the fires, as well as methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, according to the DNR.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau