On June 26, at approximately 1:59 a.m. the Burlington Police Department was dispatched to the 100 block of S. Sixth for a report of a robbery. Responding units spoke with a delivery driver employed at a local pizza restaurant. The delivery driver told officers his money bag, containing an undisclosed amount of money, had just been taken from him. The driver gave officers a suspect description, along with a description of the vehicle the suspect drove.
Deputies from the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the call and located a vehicle matching the description. They attempted to perform a traffic stop, which resulted in a vehicle pursuit. At the conclusion of the pursuit Taran Branton, 22 of Burlington, was detained and transported to the Burlington Police Department for questioning. After the interview, Branton arrested and charged with Theft in the First degree, a Class C Felony.
Branton was transported to the Des Moines County Correctional Facility and held on bond pending an initial court appearance. Deputies also filed several other charges against Branton related to the vehicle pursuit, including Eluding, Driving While Barred, Violation of One-Way Traffic and Speeding. No other details are being released at this time. Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Burlington Police Department at (319) 753-8375 or Crime Stoppers at (319) 753-6835.