Hunter
01/19/22
An Iowa City man is facing several charges after allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend of two months, and being found with drugs driving drunk following the incident.
The woman and witnesses reported that after an argument over use of her vehicle Tuesday at approximately 10 am, 23-year-old Jeremiah Seals approached the woman, who was inside the vehicle. He reportedly yelled at her to get out, but she locked the doors. Seals then used the keypad to open the driver’s side door, and allegedly began punching the woman several times in the face.
The woman got over to the passenger side and left the vehicle, running to the door of a business that turned out to be locked. Seals allegedly chased her, grabbed her in front of the store, punched her, and threw her to the ground.
During the assault, Seals is accused of telling the woman that she “brought this on” herself, and was going to make sure she remembered Tuesday’s incident.
The woman suffered scrape marks and a swollen cheek as a result of the reported assault.
Police saw Seals drive away from the scene a short time later with an expired registration sticker. When they activated the top lights of their squad car, Seals allegedly threw a red box out the window at Highland Avenue and Highland Court. Large baggies of marijuana and a baggie with over two dozen pills were later located roadside. When Seals was stopped, police allegedly also found 33 individual baggies of marijuana and a scale in the vehicle’s trunk.
Seals reportedly had bloodshot watery eyes, impaired speech, and had the odor of ingested alcohol and marijuana. He refused field testing and a PBT, but agreed to a Datamaster test showing his blood-alcohol level at .163. He refused a urine sample, and a warrant was procured for a blood sample, with results pending.
Seals faces a laundry list of charges. They include Domestic Abuse Assault second offense, interference with official acts, a Class C controlled substance violation, a Class D controlled substance violation, two drug tax stamp violations, third offense OWI, and driving on a revoked license. If convicted on all counts, Seals faces a prison sentence of up to over 33 years.