Mason City woman arrested again along with Belmond man on Franklin County meth charge

COULTER — A Mason City woman is in jail once again along with a Belmond man on a methamphetamine-related charge.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in a criminal complaint states that a deputy pulled up behind a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road with its hazard lights on in the 300 block of State Highway 3 in Coulter at about 11:45 on Tuesday night.

The deputy says he immediately observed nervous behavior from the driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Jeffrey Kiefer of Belmond, while the passenger, 19-year-old Sarina Burgin of Mason City, was sitting back in her seat in an attempt to hide so the deputy would not recognize her. The complaint says Kiefer gave consent to use the deputy’s K-9 unit for an open air sniff of the vehicle, which resulted in an alert. A backpack on the passenger floorboard allegedly contained a substance when field tested was positive for seven grams of methamphetamine.

Burgin and Kiefer have been charged with possession of meth with the intent to deliver, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Burgin is also facing charges of ongoing criminal conduct, a Class B felony, as well as possession of meth in Cerro Gordo County after being charged on June 30th with using a stolen credit card six times in late May to purchase merchandise totaling $1278. Late last week she filed a not guilty plea in that case, with her trial scheduled to start on September 30th.