Lang
3/12/23
A transient is accused of trying to force her way into a dormitory at Shelter House, then trying to use a broken door handle as a weapon.
Iowa City Police were called to a fight at the Southgate Avenue facility just after 6:15 Monday night. Arriving officers say 22-year-old Benyana Harper had barricaded herself behind a movable wardrobe and was trying to force her way into the men’s dorm despite the door being held shut from the other side.
Police say Harper broke the door handle in half, then started to swing the broken metal shard wildly before an officer could grab her wrist and take control. Harper was reportedly resistive and refused all commands to stop. Authorities say she had to be physically taken into custody.
Harper pleaded guilty to a charge of Interference With Official Acts on Tuesday and was sentenced to one day in jail. She has a March 27th arraignment date on an unrelated Assault Causing Bodily Injury charge after she allegedly injured a Shelter House staffer who was trying to break up a fight between Harper and another woman last January. That charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail upon conviction.