Lang
1/24/21
Sentencing is Monday for an Iowa City man accused of stealing lottery tickets during a break-in amidst rioting in Coralville last year.
28-year-old Devonte Flowers entered a guilty plea last November in Johnson County court. Terms of the plea deal have not been released.
Police say that just before 1:30am on June 1st, Flowers and several other suspects wearing masks entered Smokin’ Joe’s on The Coralville Strip by breaking a window with a large rock. The group then looted the store, taking 56 items totaling $1,589.48 in value, including lottery tickets and liquor. The entire incident was caught on surveillance video.
The break-in occurred while a large group of people gathered outside Coral Ridge Mall with the intention of breaking into the facility. The group was responding to a social media post encouraging people to loot the mall under the guise of protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police.
Flowers was developed as a suspect when he tried exchanging the winning, stolen tickets at an Iowa City Kum & Go on June 10th. Police say he stole 28 tickets totaling $110 in value.
Flowers was arrested the next day at his residence in the Town and Campus Apartments on Arthur Street. He’s charged with 2nd Degree Theft, Theft of Lottery Tickets, 3rd Degree Burglary, 3rd Degree Criminal Mischief, Trespassing Casing Damage Greater Than $300, and 4th Degree Criminal Mischief. The lesser criminal mischief charge comes after surveillance video also showed Flowers throwing a rock through a window at Tires Plus on 10th Street.
If convicted on all charges, Flowers could have faced a maximum of 19 years in prison. Monday’s sentencing is set for 11am.