Transient with history of stealing change from laundry machines arrested again for same offense

Lang
12/7/22

A transient with a history of stealing change from laundry machines at Iowa City apartment buildings has been arrested again for the same offense.

22-year-old Kevin Ramirez was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 7:45 Tuesday night. Iowa City Police say surveillance video shows Ramirez breaking into a laundry room at an apartment building at 603 South Dubuque Street just after 1:45am on November 11th and just after 10:30am on November 25th. The landlord had reported recent break-ins where the suspect had taken change from laundry machines.

Video from the Veteran’s Day incident allegedly shows Ramirez using a tool believed to be a paint scraper to pry open the door to the laundry room. He is then seen leaving the room 12 minutes later.

Ramirez is already facing burglary charges after he allegedly broke into multiple coin-operated laundry machines at an apartment building at 610 South Johnson Street last June. A case management conference in that case is set for December 19th.

Ramirez now faces two new charges of 3rd Degree Burglary for the South Dubuque Street break-ins. If convicted on both charges, he faces a maximum of ten years in prison.