On 9-24-14, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, received information that Joshua Raymond Steinbronn, 28 of Westgate, was at the residence of 220 Olive St. Westgate IA.  Information stemmed from a prior investigation where charges of Child Endangerment were filed on Steinbronn.  As a result of his arrest on 9/19/2014, a No-Contact order was issued between Steinbronn and the 5 children of Jonya Marie Ruth Smith, 29 of Westgate. The Sheriff’s Office has done several welfare checks on the children since the arrest, however reports that Steinbronn was at the residence continued to come in.  During an investigation with the DHS it was discovered that a hidden door leading under the house was in a closet in the residence.   With assistance from DHS, it was discovered that Steinbronn had been hiding in the hidden crawl space and had been in contact  with the children, multiple times in the last 48 hours, and Jonya Smith was aware of this. When Fayette County Deputies arrived on scene, Jonya Marie Ruth Smith, 29 of Westgate and all five children were at the residence on Olive St.   While on scene , Deputies also arrested Traeton Dean Wilharm, 19 of Sumner, and Megan Elise Owens, 21 of Oelwein on Fayette County Warrants for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia with $1000 Cash Bond.  Joshua Steinbronn was taken into custody and charged with multiple counts of Violation of a Protective Order, Simple Misdemeanors. Jonya Smith was arrested and charged with 5 counts of Child Endangerment, Aggravated Misdemeanors, 2 counts of Aid and abet of a No-Contact Order, Simple Misdemeanors, and Driving While Suspended, a Simple Misdemeanor.  Steinbronn and Smith were transported to Fayette County Jail and currently await their  initial appearances.  Owens and Wilharm were taken into custody on the Fayette County Warrants and transported the Fayette County Jail where they later posted $1000 bond.  This investigation still remains open and more charges pending. All five children were removed from the home by the DHS staff.
Sheriff Marty Fisher would like to express his thanks to the concerned citizens who worked with the Sheriff's Office during this investigation.
Source:  Fayette County Sheriff's Office

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