Woman Alleged to Threaten to Set Vehicle on Fire Near Elementary School, Arrested for Impersonating Officer

A woman accused of threatening to set a vehicle on fire outside a North Iowa elementary school last week was arrested earlier this summer for impersonating an officer.

Court records show Mason City Police arrested 44-year-old Jenny Contreras of Mason City September 22nd for making a threat with explosive or incendiary device, a Class D felony, in the parking lot of Hoover Elementary. She was also charged with disorderly conduct and interference with official acts.

According to criminal complaints, MCPD officers responded after Contreras was denied access to the school while classes were in session. She then struck the building’s door and tried to get it open, causing a disturbance. 

MCPD says Contreras also poured gasoline around her vehicle, threatened to start the fuel on fire and resisted arrest.

In a letter to Hoover school families on the incident, Principal Sarah Glowaski and Superintendent Pat Hamilton said staff did not allow the woman into the building and two grades had recess indoors so students would not witness the arrest. They added that Contreras made no threats of violence and staff were confident student safety was not compromised.

Contreras was being held without bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday (Oct. 2) in Cerro Gordo County District Court.

Court records also show the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Contreras July 1st for impersonating a public official. The criminal complaint alleges she used colored lights in the front of her car to pull over another vehicle and ordered the female driver out of the vehicle. Contreras then searched the vehicle and a backpack, ordered the woman to get on the ground, took pictures and claimed her husband was a police officer.

She also allegedly waived a metal detector around the vehicle while wearing a yellow vest and attempted to direct traffic. Investigators say Contreras also had handcuffs and a sheriff’s shirt allegedly draped over a seat in her vehicle.

She is slated for a jury trial in that case on November 3rd.