Police say 'ambush' killer of 2 Iowa officers has history of arrests, criminal charges

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The man accused of killing two Iowa police officers Wednesday in a pair of separate ambush-style attacks has a history of trouble with the law, authorities said.

According to investigators, Scott Michael Greene first shot Urbandale, Iowa, Officer Justin Martin a few minutes after 1 a.m., Wednesday, and then Des Moines Sgt. Anthony Beminio 20 minutes later. Officials said between 15 and 30 shots were fired at Martin.

Officials said both officers were blindsided by the attacks -- shot as they sat in their patrol vehicles.

Beminio was an 11-year veteran of the Des Moines department, and Martin joined the Urbandale force 15 months ago.

"The puzzling thing about this is that [Martin] didn't have any idea or warning or fear that anything was wrong," Urbandale police Chief Ross McCarty said. "We're assuming [Greene] walked up on foot."

Greene, 46, was arrested hours later after he gave himself up. Not long after he was taken into custody, Greene was taken to a hospital due to a "flare up" of an existing medical condition, officials said.

"We're a very tight-knit community," Des Moines Sgt. Paul Parizek said. "Des Moines is not a big city. We all know each other. We're heartbroken."

Police officers Justin Martin (right) of the Urbandale Police Dept., and Sgt. Anthony Beminio of the Des Moines Police Department were each fatally shot early Wednesday in what investigators said were ambush-style attacks. Both officers were shot as they sat in their patrol cars between 1-1:30 a.m. CDT. Photo courtesy Des Moines/Urbandale Police Depts.

Authorities said Wednesday marked the first time a Des Moines, a city of about 210,000 people, officer was killed in the line of duty since two died in 1977. It's believed Martin is the first officer killed on duty in Urbandale.

Police said Wednesday that they are familiar with Greene and that he has had confrontations with officers in the past.

"Most of our officers have some understanding of Mr. Greene," McCarty said.

Just weeks ago, police were called to escort Greene away from a high school football game in Urbandale, The New York Times reported. Witnesses told police he had been waving a Confederate flag in front of black students there. Greene posted a video online of the incident.

In 2014, Greene was arrested for resisting a police officer's pat-down attempt, and in another incident, arrested and charged with harassment for threatening and taunting a man with racial slurs. He pleaded guilty in both cases. He was charged with assault in 2001, but the charge was ultimately dropped.

Police said Greene had a court appearance Tuesday over a dispute with his mother.

Investigators were trying to determine a possible motive for Wednesday's shootings.