Former Des Moines superintendent pleads guilty to federal charges

(The Center Square) – The former superintendent of the largest school district in Iowa has pleaded guilty to federal charges after he was arrested by law enforcement last September.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested former Des Moines Public School Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts last September after a manhunt ensued. A citizen of Guyana, Roberts had a decades-long criminal record and had been living in the U.S. illegally with no work authorization, The Center Square reported. A federal immigration judge also ordered his removal from the U.S. in 2024.

When ICE ERO-Des Moines officers approached him to arrest him, he sped away in his taxpayer-funded DMPS vehicle to evade arrest. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. Iowa State Patrol assisted with locating and arresting him. When he was arrested, he was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cas...