Transient accused of damaging two Johnson County-owned vehicles arrested after skipping arraignment

Lang
3/27/20

A local transient facing charges that he caused thousands of dollars in damage to a pair of Johnson County-owned vehicles is back behind bars after skipping his arraignment last fall.

30-year-old Bryant Smith was set to be arraigned on charges of 2nd Degree Criminal Mischief and Trespass Causing Damage Greater Than $300 on October 23rd, but online records show he failed to appear.

Smith was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 4pm Friday. A new arraignment date has not yet been set.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says Smith had been given a criminal trespass warning for the South Dubuque Street parking ramp of the county Health and Human Services Building on August 4th, 2020. At approximately 7:45pm on August 13th he allegedly returned to the ramp and used a 2×4 to smash two rear windows and a windshield on two county-owned vehicles. He also put a dent in the side of one of the vehicles.

Total estimated damage was $2,000.

If convicted on both charges, Smith faces a maximum of five years in prison.