Hunter
09/27/22
An Iowa City man under driving suspension reportedly used his brother’s name when arrested for OWI earlier this month.
Police stopped 24-year-old Daniel Echa of Whispering Meadow Drive at 11:50 pm on September 1st because his vehicle had plates that expired in July. He also reportedly was unable to provide his insurance information to the officer.
Echa allegedly had bloodshot watery eyes, and a strong odor of alcohol was coming from the vehicle. After failing field testing, he consented to a Datamaster test, showing his blood-alcohol level at .094 percent.
It was later learned that Echa used his brother’s name to identify himself when booked into the Johnson County Jail and at his initial court appearance. Police used the recent mugshot, driver’s license photo and Facebook photos to correctly identify Daniel Echa as the person arrested for the OWI.
A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into custody Monday afternoon. Echa was charged with first offense OWI, Malicious Prosecution, Driving while Suspended, Operating a non-registered vehicle, and Failure to produce Financial Liability. If convicted on the criminal charges, he could be sentenced to up to two years in jail.