Lang
8/1/21
An early Sunday morning fight on the Ped Mall has led to the arrest of a Cedar Rapids man wanted for allegedly giving police false identity information and for depositing bad checks.
Iowa City Police were called to a fight in front of The Fieldhouse on South Dubuque Street just before 12:30am. 23-year-old Charles Johnson of J Street SW was detained, and investigators learned he had multiple warrants for his arrest. Police say Johnson fought with them briefly to avoid arrest, but he was still taken into custody.
Johnson was wanted for an August 2020 incident in which he allegedly deposited two fictitious checks totaling $6,000 into a pair of accounts two women created for him at MidWestOne Bank. Police say two days after the checks were deposited into the bank’s drive-through on Keokuk Street, Johnson spent the money at area Kum & Go’s, Walgreens and a Hy-Vee gas station before MidWestOne could shut the account down due to the fraudulent checks.
Police say Johnson also gave them a false driver’s license during a traffic stop near the corner of Capitol and Harrison Streets just after 4am last June 6th. Johnson had been speeding on the Benton Street bridge near McDonald’s. He allegedly gave police a fake Illinois driver’s license with his photo on it. The license was so convincing, the bar code on the back came back with another person’s name when it was scanned. Johnson had also allegedly told investigators that his name was the same name that scanned, “Anthony C. Weeks”. Police learned Johnson’s true identity…and that he was wanted on outstanding warrants and had been driving on a revoked license…after he had already been charged as Weeks and released.
Johnson is now charged with 2nd Degree Theft, Malicious Prosecution, Possession of a Fictitious License, Providing False Identity Information, Driving While Revoked, Public Intoxication, Interference With Official Acts and Speeding. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of over eight years in prison.
Johnson was also wanted on outstanding warrants out of Illinois.