Lang
5/10/24
A second suspect has been arrested for her alleged part in what police say was a forgery scheme being run out of an Iowa City hotel room.
50-year-old Elvialisa Garcia of RISE at Riverfront Crossings on South Linn Street was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 2:00 Thursday afternoon. Iowa City Police say Garcia and 44-year-old Marcus Turner of Boston Way in Coralville were evicted from The Chauncey on East College Street in December of 2022. Hotel staff said the two had become unruly and were refusing to pay for the room. Turner allegedly initially lied about his name, although investigators say at one point he accidentally used his real name in front of hotel staff.
Police say Turner and Garcia fled the scene before they could arrive. A binder and two folders were found inside a closet. They contained approximately 100 checks printed out to accounts belonging to the City of Iowa City and three different businesses. Multiple checks were allegedly made out to Turner and Garcia in amounts varying between $500 and $3,000. A printer and a computer were also found inside the room, although the suspects reportedly fled with the printer before law enforcement could arrive.
Police say a search warrant executed on the computer turned up logins for both Turner and Garcia, as well as templates of blank checks.
Turner was arrested in February. He and Garcia are now each charged with four counts of Forgery. If convicted on all charges, they each face a maximum of 20 years in prison.