An altercation in Storm Lake escalated into a knife fight, resulting in injuries to a man who tried to break it up. The Storm Lake Police Department reports that at approximately 11:35 p.m. on Thursday night, they were dispatched to reports of a fight in progress at MKZ Auto Repair on Vestal Street. Upon arriving, they learned the person who had been armed with a knife, 21-year-old German Ariel Zambrano Villa Lobos of Battle Creek, had fled the scene in a white work truck. Witnesses told authorities that Zambrano Villa Lobos got into an argument with another person at the business, and when he was knocked to the ground, he pulled a knife. In an attempt to disarm him, a third party tackled Zambrano Villa Lobos and sustained cuts to his hand. The injured man was treated at the scene by Buena Vista County Paramedics and then later presented himself at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center for treatment. The Storm Lake Police Department put out an area broadcast on the suspect vehicle, and at 12:22 a.m. Friday were notified that the Ida County Sheriff’s Office had stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Highways 20 and 59 and they had him in custody. The Sheriff’s Office had arrested Zambrano Villa Lobos and charged him with operating while intoxicated, a serious misdemeanor. The suspect was then transported back to Storm Lake and charged with willful injury causing bodily harm, a class D felony, assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, a simple misdemeanor. Zambrano Villa Lobos was booked into the Buena Vista County jail on a $5,000 bond. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
