Lang
7/18/23
A local transient is charged with breaking into an Iowa City funeral home to sleep for the second time in less than a month.
Iowa City Police say the owner of Gay & Ciha Funeral Home on Muscatine Avenue reported discovering 24-year-old Shyawna Collins inside an apartment above the business just after 8:45 Sunday morning. Collins appeared to have entered the apartment through a small window. Police say once inside, Collins used the bathroom, helped herself to food and beverages from the refrigerator, and eventually went to sleep in one of the beds.
Collins was awakened by arriving police, who took her outside to a shopping cart she had left outside. Investigators say the owner of the business asked to examine a mesh bag full of clothing and papers that Collins had taken out of the apartment with her and placed into the cart. The bag reportedly contained men’s clothing stolen from the apartment, as well as mail addressed to the business.
Collins is charged with 3rd Degree Burglary. If convicted, she faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Collins was also arrested last month after allegedly breaking into Gay & Ciha Funeral Home and sleeping on the floor on June 21st. She also faces numerous trespassing charges after reportedly ignoring orders to stay away from the nearby Town & Campus Apartments on Arthur Street.
Records show Collins has multiple previous trespassing and other criminal convictions.