Hunter
05/29/20
An area transient who has been accused of a long string of crimes over the last year was arrested again after allegedly taking police property from a storage area.
Police say video surveillance showed 30-year-old Alexander Torres on the lower level of the Harrison Street parking ramp at approximately 9am on May 18th. Torres allegedly entered the secure police storage area located at the bottom of the ramp and took possession of items there, including backpacks and a motorized bicycle valued at $350 that didn’t belong to him.
Torres reportedly was able to leave the area riding the motorized bike and in possession of the backpacks.
He was taken into custody and charged with 3rd degree Burglary and 4th degree Theft. Torres could be sentenced to up to six years in prison if convicted.
The transient has a series of arrests, the most serious involving the trashing of vacant homes. He’s accused of squatting at residences in the 800 block of North Dodge, the 1000 block of Summit Street, and the 800 block of Caroline Avenue in Iowa City, as well as an apartment in Coralville, causing damage at each site.
Additionally, Torres has been accused of trying to break into the Old Capitol in October, stealing items from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Medical Museum in February, and later that month allegedly grabbing women’s buttocks outside the Robert A Lee Rec Center and fighting with police over a stick he claimed was his “wand.”
Torres is due in court June 3rd on a motion he filed to withdraw counsel.
