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Darknet Diaries · Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Pen Testers Arrested After Iowa Courthouse Breach; Charges Initially Felony Burglary

Penetration testers Justin Wynn and Gary DeMercurio were arrested and initially charged with felony burglary and possession of burglary tools after a security assessment at the Dallas County Courthouse. Despite having authorization from the state, county officials pursued charges, leading to a lengthy legal battle.

personJustin WynnpersonGary DeMercurio

The tape

3 quotes
We make it through the first door really easy, and then the second door — we could have used the same attack, but we were trying other things.
So, we go up to this courthouse. We jiggled the door. There’s a little technique that you just see if the latch is engaged, and pop the door real quick. Much to my surprise, the door was open.
So, both of them get handcuffed. They had their rights read to them, and the police started escorting them away. But still, even though they now have handcuffs on and the police are escorting them, they still weren’t nervous about the situation.
Heard on Darknet Diaries — “179: The Courthouse - Revisited, published Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via publisher transcript · $0.00
Pen Testers Arrested After Iowa Courthouse Breach; Charges Initially Felony Burglary — Heardvine