Additional charges filed against Iowa man who shot himself in parking ramp earlier this week
Hunter
12/14/22
Additional charges have been filed against a Storm Lake Iowa man who held his wife hostage after police stopped him from taking her on a bus to Chicago against her will.
Officers responded to a welfare check at the Court Street Parking Ramp bus depot at approximately 2pm Monday. Information received by police from a third party indicated a man was armed and trying to take his wife by bus to Chicago against her will. The couple’s three children, an infant, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old, were also present.
Upon seeing the arriving officers, the man, identified as 33-year-old Cardale Hunter, reportedly pulled out a .38 caliber pistol, grabbed his wife, and pressed the gun to the back of her head. He allegedly threatened to kill her if officers didn’t back off, then fled with the woman into the parking ramp.
Police now say Hunter attempted to commandeer a vehicle from a woman stopped on the second floor of the ramp. The victim said she saw Hunter running towards her and attempted to lock her doors, but Hunter opened her driver’s door and told her to get out. She refused, and Hunter allegedly grabbed her collar to pull her out of her car, but she continued to refuse. Hunter told her he had a gun, told her to get out of the car, then pointed the gun at her face. The woman again refused and was able to get her car door shut and locked. An officer who was pursuing Hunter observed the altercation, and surveillance video showed Hunter with a gun.
Hunter and his wife, who he was holding hostage, were eventually cornered in the ramp. Police negotiations continued until Hunter released his wife and shot himself. He survived the self-inflicted wound and is in the Johnson County Jail.
The new charges include another count of Going Armed with Intent, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and 1st degree Robbery. Added to the original charges, Hunter could now be sentenced to up to 71 years in prison.