WE START WITH BREAKING NEWS. THIS NOON, OUR FORMER DES MOINES SUPERINTENDENT, DOCTOR IAN ROBERTS, IS NO LONGER BEING HELD AT THE WOODBURY COUNTY JAIL. THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TOOK DOCTOR ROBERTS INTO CUSTODY THIS MORNING ON A FEDERAL WARRANT. ICE ARRESTED DOCTOR ROBERTS NEARLY A WEEK AGO. THEY SAY HE RAN FROM A TRAFFIC STOP AND HAD A GUN INSIDE A VEHICLE. AND $3,000 IN CASH. THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SAYS HE HAD A FINAL ORDER FOR REMOVAL FROM 2024. THIS WEEK, HIS LAWYERS SAY THEY PLAN TO FILE A MOTION TO REOPEN HIS CASE. ROBERTS LEGAL TEAM IS HOLDING A TOWN HALL THIS EVENING. IT STARTS AT SIX AT CORINTHIAN BAPTIST CHURCH IN DES MOINES. A FORMER CENTRAL IOWA SUPERINTENDENT IS SHEDDING SOME MORE LIGHT ON THE HIRING PROCESS AT IOWA SCHOOLS. DOCTOR LISA RAMEY IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS OF IOWA, AND SHE TOLD US SHE WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF LAWMAKERS BRING UP USING THE E-VERIFY SYSTEM DURING THIS NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION. THERE’S PROS TO THAT, BECAUSE IT DOES. THEN REALLY CONNECT WITH THAT WORK AUTHORIZATION. BUT THEN THERE’S ALSO FALSE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES THAT CAN COME WITH THE USE OF THAT PLATFORM AS WELL. THE E-VERIFY SYSTEM ALLOWS EMPLOYERS TO VALIDATE SOMEONE’S IMMIGRATION STATUS. SHE ALSO SHARED MORE ABOUT THE BACKGROUND CHECK PROCESS FOR PEOPLE WHO APPLY TO BE A SUPERINTENDENT. ONCE A PERSON HAS BEEN NARROWED DOWN, THEY ALSO NEED TO PROVIDE AN I-9 FORM AND PROOF THAT THEY
Federal authorities file gun charge against former Des Moines school superintendent Ian Roberts
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Updated: 3:00 PM CDT Oct 2, 2025
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Former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.Video above: Roberts moved from Iowa jail to federal custodyAccording to a news release from the Department of Justice, Roberts, 54, made an initial appearance Thursday before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Roberts on Friday and said he was in the country illegally and had no work authorization. He was first taken to Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs before being transferred to Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City.Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan said Thursday morning that "Roberts was taken into custody by the United States Department of Justice on a Federal warrant for his arrest. All inquiries shall be directed to the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office."Roberts, who federal authorities say is a citizen of Guyana in South America, was considered an ICE fugitive because he was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024. ICE said that it targeted Roberts for arrest by initiating a traffic stop on Friday while he was driving in his school-issued vehicle. After he fled, officers discovered his vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. He was located and taken into ICE custody with the help of Iowa State Patrol officers.As a non-citizen, Roberts illegally possessed four guns, according to court documents, including a Glock Model 19 nine-millimeter pistol, which was found wrapped in a towel under the driver's seat of the the district-owned vehicle he was driving before his arrest. An "emergency trace" on the Glock pistol was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which "revealed that it was purchased ... Oct. 4, 2019, at a federal firearms licensee in North Little Rock, Arkansas," by a woman authorities believe to be Roberts' wife.In a search of Roberts' home in Des Moines, authorities found three other guns, including: A Sig Sauer Model P320 9-mm pistol, located under the cushion of a living room chairA Remington Model 783.270 WIN caliber rifle, located in a case in the master bedroom closetA Remington Model 870 20-gauge shotgun, located in a case in the master bedroom closetThrough his attorney Alfredo Parrish, Roberts submitted his resignation to DMPS, and school board members voted unanimously Tuesday to accept.WATCH: Des Moines Board of Education votes to accept resignation of Superintendent Ian RobertsWATCH: Deep dive into Dr. Ian Roberts' employment and education historyMore coverage of Ian RobertsFull DMPS school board news conference following move to put Ian Roberts on unpaid leaveWATCH: Full news conference by Ian Roberts' lawyersDMPS Vice Chair Skylar Mayberry-Mayes' statement after voting to accept resignation of Superintendent Ian RobertsDMPS Board Chair Jackie Norris reads statement before board's vote to accept resignation of Superintendent Ian Roberts
DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
Video above: Roberts moved from Iowa jail to federal custody
According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Roberts, 54, made an initial appearance Thursday before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Roberts on Friday and said he was in the country illegally and had no work authorization. He was first taken to Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs before being transferred to Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City.
Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan said Thursday morning that "Roberts was taken into custody by the United States Department of Justice on a Federal warrant for his arrest. All inquiries shall be directed to the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office."
Roberts, who federal authorities say is a citizen of Guyana in South America, was considered an ICE fugitive because he was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024. ICE said that it targeted Roberts for arrest by initiating a traffic stop on Friday while he was driving in his school-issued vehicle. After he fled, officers discovered his vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. He was located and taken into ICE custody with the help of Iowa State Patrol officers.
As a non-citizen, Roberts illegally possessed four guns, according to court documents, including a Glock Model 19 nine-millimeter pistol, which was found wrapped in a towel under the driver's seat of the the district-owned vehicle he was driving before his arrest.
An "emergency trace" on the Glock pistol was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which "revealed that it was purchased ... Oct. 4, 2019, at a federal firearms licensee in North Little Rock, Arkansas," by a woman authorities believe to be Roberts' wife.
Hearst Owned
This Glock Model 19 9-mm pistol was found wrapped in a towel under the driver’s seat of the district-issued vehicle Ian Roberts was driving before his arrest on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
In a search of Roberts' home in Des Moines, authorities found three other guns, including:
- A Sig Sauer Model P320 9-mm pistol, located under the cushion of a living room chair
- A Remington Model 783.270 WIN caliber rifle, located in a case in the master bedroom closet
- A Remington Model 870 20-gauge shotgun, located in a case in the master bedroom closet
Through his attorney Alfredo Parrish, Roberts submitted his resignation to DMPS, and school board members voted unanimously Tuesday to accept.
WATCH: Des Moines Board of Education votes to accept resignation of Superintendent Ian Roberts
WATCH: Deep dive into Dr. Ian Roberts' employment and education history
More coverage of Ian Roberts
Full DMPS school board news conference following move to put Ian Roberts on unpaid leave
WATCH: Full news conference by Ian Roberts' lawyers
DMPS Vice Chair Skylar Mayberry-Mayes' statement after voting to accept resignation of Superintendent Ian Roberts
DMPS Board Chair Jackie Norris reads statement before board's vote to accept resignation of Superintendent Ian Roberts
