Lang
7/19/23
A pair of teenagers has been arrested in connection with two armed robberies on the Ped Mall in downtown Iowa City.
17-year-old Leshawn Garrett of Muscatine Avenue and 16-year-old Jeremiah Betts Linares of the Town & Campus Apartments face two charges each of 2nd Degree Robbery. Iowa City Police say the two confronted one person in front of Basic Goods at the corner of Dubuque and College Streets just after 6:45 last Friday morning and demanded he give them his vape pen. Garrett and Betts Linares allegedly threatened the man with a knife.
The two teens then reportedly confronted a woman and demanded she give them her purse. The woman was able to hide the purse before it was taken away. Garrett was allegedly holding a knife while Betts Linares threatened to hurt the woman if she didn’t comply. Police say the two then fled the scene when the first victim returned to confront them. Once captured, they were reportedly in possession of the stolen vape pen.
If convicted on both charges, Garrett and Betts Linares would each face a maximum of 20 years in prison.