IC restaurant owner faces criminal mischief charge after incident at neighboring business
Lang
10/15/20
An Iowa City restaurant owner faces a criminal mischief charge after a Monday incident at a neighboring business.
46-year-old Brian Joens, owner of Joensey’s on North Dodge Street, was charged after a Monday incident at the University of Iowa Quickcare clinic near his restaurant.
The ICPD online activity log shows officers were called to UI Quickcare at 3:12pm for a report of vandalism. Four minutes later, a roofer called dispatchers to say a man was mad at him and took his ladder. One minute after that, officers were called to Joensey’s for a harassment complaint.
Police say two witnesses saw Joens carry a ladder from the side of the building into his restaurant. The roofer who owned the ladder had been on a 30 minute break and came back to find it gone. A third witness said he saw Joens throw the ladder out the back door of his business. Joens claimed he didn’t take the ladder, but was able to point the owner to its location. The owner noticed about $30 in damage that was not pre-existing.
Joens is charged with 5th Degree Criminal Mischief. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 30 days in jail. An initial court appearance is set for November 16th.