Hunter
01/14/20
An Iowa City man has been charged with assault after an alleged December incident involving a housemate moving out of his residence.
According to police, the man was in the process of moving out of his room on the afternoon of December 2nd in the 1000 block of Hudson Avenue. 52-year-old Donroy Merrival, who also had a room in the house, entered the man’s room as he was gathering his belongings and allegedly became verbally hostile. The man reportedly told Merrival to exit the room, but Merrival pushed him.
The man told Merrival to leave the room again, and that’s when Merrival is accused of punching the victim in the face, knocking him to the ground, and repeatedly punching him. Merrival was pulled off of the victim by a witness. Officers spoke with the witness who verified the victim’s story.
The man had numerous bloody red scrapes on his face, mostly near his left eye, and complained of concussion-like symptoms.
A warrant was served on Merrival Monday afternoon, and he was charged with assault causing bodily injury, a serious misdemeanor punishable by a jail sentence of up to one year if convicted.