Former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts has been charged in federal court with being an undocumented immigrant in possession of firearms, according to prosecutors.
Roberts, 54, was arrested following a brief chase on Sept. 26 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers executing a federal warrant, authorities said. He has been ordered held without bond after waiving his right to a detention hearing.
ICE officials said Roberts has a lengthy criminal history, including multiple drug and firearm offenses dating back to 1996. He has been arrested in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. [Click here to view the full list of alleged charges.]
Roberts, a native of Guyana, entered the United States on a student visa in 1999, which expired in 2004. Immigration authorities said he lacks work authorization and was ordered deported in 2024.
Roberts served as a principal in Washington, D.C., and other locations before being hired in 2023 as superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa’s largest school district, which serves 30,000 students.
According to ABC News, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris said the board “was not aware of Roberts’ immigration issues at the time of his hiring,” adding that members are taking the allegations “very seriously.”
“For all of us, this is not what we anticipated when we welcomed Dr. Ian Roberts into central Iowa and the Des Moines School District,” Norris said. “It is a sad and troubling end for an individual who gave many people, especially our students, hope.”
On Friday, Oct. 3, officials said they would file a lawsuit against the consulting firm hired to lead their superintendent search, alleging the company did not properly vet Roberts before recommending him for the job, according to the Des Moines Register.
The school district accuses JG Consulting of negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, and breach of contract, the report said.
The school board put Roberts on administrative leave a day after his arrest.
Federal officers said Roberts sped away from them after they approached him on Sept. 26. State police later discovered his abandoned car a few miles away with a loaded handgun, a hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash inside. Agents arrested him soon after.
During a later search of his home, law enforcement found more guns, including a loaded pistol under a seat cushion in the living room, a loaded rifle in a bedroom closet, and a shotgun hidden behind a headboard, authorities said.
Roberts has said in previous interviews that he was called to be an educator after his time as an Olympic runner.
Roberts represented Guyana in the 800-meter race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He graduated from Coppin State University in Baltimore in 1998, according to a school profile.
“My career chose me,” he said in the Coppin profile. “I believe that I was divinely guided to this career, to educate, inspire, motivate, and serve as a champion for children, particularly children who are marginalized by our K-12 education system, and to inspire the adults who serve them daily.”
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