Hunter
08/01/22
An Iowa City man has been arrested on a warrant stemming from an alleged electric bike theft.
The criminal complaint says the owner of the stolen bike tracked it to a Dodge Street address using Apple Air Tag technology the morning of July 28th. Officers investigated and pinpointed it to be inside an apartment.
As officers prepared to leave and get a search warrant to recover the stolen bike, a confrontation took place at the front door of 27-year-old Jerome Brooks’ apartment between him, his intimate partner, and officers.
One police officer was able to see inside the apartment and spotted the stolen bike, valued at over $2600. The investigation then moved inside the apartment, where Brooks allegedly stated that someone paid him $15 to store the vehicle.
Police got the bike back and returned it to the owner, who discovered some damage and noted that Brooks wrote his name on the bike in magic marker.
A warrant was issued for Brooks’ arrest.
Sunday night, police made contact with Brooks and notified him of the warrant; he allegedly became argumentative and walked away. He refused to stop, although police told him he wasn’t free to leave. Brooks reportedly told officers he was, picked up a small child, and walked into the building. He refused to put the child down, putting the child at risk.
Brooks was taken into custody and booked into the Johnson County Jail Sunday night and charged with 2nd degree Theft, Child Endangerment, and Interference with Official Acts. He faces a prison sentence of over seven years if convicted on all counts.