Hunter
10/24/19
An Iowa City man known to be a suspect in several area burglaries has been charged with using stolen credit cards to make several purchases.
19 year-old Charls Niphong of Bartelt Road was arrested Monday after a search warrant executed on his apartment found marijuana and a firearm that had been reported stolen Sunday night. Over the weekend, Niphong reportedly was identified as the individual who tried to break into a Samoa Drive residence early Saturday morning. He also is accused of stealing a Chevy Silverado Pickup on Clearwater Court Sunday. Police say Niphong drove that truck to Williamsburg, where he committed several burglaries before returning to Iowa City.
Now police say that Niphong was viewed at multiple Coralville locations, using two stolen credit cards to make purchases on October 7th that he reportedly stole from a home in Coralville the same day. One of those purchases was allegedly made at the Coral Ridge Best Buy, and Niphong is accused of charging or attempting to charge items totaling nearly $1600 on a Discover and a First Bank Visa card.
Niphong faces Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card over $1500, a Class D felony punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years. The previous charges leveled against Niphong carry a total sentence of 26 years in prison.