Columbus Junction armed robber given five-year prison sentence after having teen girl flash him in jail

Lang
1/21/24

A Columbus Junction man convicted of armed robbery has been sentenced to prison after having a teenage girl flash her breasts at him at the Washington County Jail.

19-year-old Jaden Miller entered a guilty plea in the case on Thursday. Miller was charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in November after deputies say he encouraged a 17-year-old to flash her breasts at him via jail video chat on Halloween night and made frequent mention of conducting sexual acts with her.

Miller was in jail awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge of 1st Degree Robbery. A charge of Attempted Murder was dropped as part of a plea deal.

The charges stemmed from a January 2022 incident in which Miller and 21-year-old Mya Wright of Wheaton Road in Iowa City robbed 42-year-old Kenneth James of Coralville outside the Woodridge Apartments on West Adams Street. Miller shot James, who was able to drive away and call 9-1-1 after crashing his car.

Because Miller was a 17-year-old juvenile at the time of the shooting, a sentencing court opted for a suspended 25 year sentence and placement into the One Eighty Zone Residential Facility. Wright was given a ten-year prison sentence.

On Thursday, Judge Shawn Showers sentenced Miller to five years in prison. The flashing incident is also considered a violation of Miller’s parole on the robbery charge.