Lang
10/4/24
A rural Iowa City man who called in a threat to the Johnson County courthouse last summer has been given a fine.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says 43-year-old Kenneth Davis called 9-1-1 just after 10:00 on the night of July 31st and reported, “There’s something that could be really destructive to the courthouse on the front steps.”
Arriving law enforcement shut down traffic in the area around the courthouse between Clinton and Capitol Streets for about two hours as they dealt with four items that had been left on the courthouse steps. The Johnson County Metro Bomb Team responded to the scene and removed the suspicious items, which turned out to be religious reading materials. There was no threat to the public.
Investigators say they acquired video of Davis placing the items on the courthouse steps, as well as video of him calling in the threat from an Iowa City gas station.
Davis, who lives on 480th Street between Sharon Center and Hills, was charged with Making a False Report to a Public Entity. On Wednesday he pleaded guilty and was fined $855.