Lang
3/13/21
A Coralville woman accused of helping an Iowa City murder suspect escape capture has pleaded not guilty to unrelated weapons charges.
31-year-old Whitney Claybon entered the plea Friday in Johnson County Court. She’s charged with Dominion or Control of a Firearm by a Domestic Abuse Offender, a Class D Felony punishable by up to five years in prison, if convicted.
Officers executed a search warrant on Claybon’s Boston Way apartment in January. They say they found five rounds of .22 caliber LR ammunition in her purse.
Claybon was convicted of domestic abuse assault in 2017 and is not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition. Under Miranda, she allegedly admitted knowing the ammo was in her purse.
On Friday Judge Jason Burns set a trial date of August 3rd. A case management conference is set for June 25th.
Claybon will be back in court Monday morning for arraignment on charges of Obstruction and Accessory After the Fact relating to the murder of Kejuan Winters inside his Broadway Street apartment on April 20th of 2020. She’s accused of telling investigators that she drove one of the suspects in the case to Chicago to help him escape the area, but they later learned that she drove him to Minnesota instead. She faces up to four years in prison if convicted on those charges.