Lang
1/30/21
A transient with a history of vandalism faces charges that he caused thousands of dollars in damage to a building on the University of Iowa campus.
According to UI Police, 45-year-old Michael Dacunos was seen leaving the third floor of the Psychological and Brain Sciences Building on Iowa Avenue after a window was smashed with a side table just after 9:30 Friday morning. Damage is estimated at $2,000.
Dacunos later admitted to being inside the building at the time of the incident, and witnesses placed him at the scene.
Dacunos was arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Criminal Mischief. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Dacunos has a lengthy criminal history. Last summer Dacunos spent one day in jail after yelling racial slurs at a woman waiting for food outside Best China on Boyrum Street, also calling her a “bitch” before telling her “black lives don’t matter”.
Last November, Dacunos was arrested after allegedly hitting another man with a golf club and biting him after yelling racial slurs at the 1105 Project on Gilbert Court. An arraignment in that case is set for Monday.
Last October, Dacunos was arrested for allegedly breaking multiple car windows at Deery Brothers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram on Highway 1 West. He also allegedly damaged cars parked in the 600 block of South Riverside Drive and the 1100 block of South Gilbert Street. A case management conference in that case is set for February 26th, with trial scheduled for March 23rd.