Lang
2/1/23
Iowa City Police have arrested a man they say harassed an Iowa City woman over the course of a week last month.
43-year-old Benjamin Hayes of Longfellow Court was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 4:15 Tuesday morning. Police found Hayes sleeping in a laundry room inside a Cross Park Avenue apartment building at 3:30 Tuesday morning. Investigators say he gave them the fake name, “David Jones”, a made-up date of birth, and he claimed he lived on the first floor of the building. Police determined his true identity when he provided his real social security number and ID.
According to arrest records, Hayes was wanted for sending a woman 500 unwanted messages between January 14th and January 19th. Many of the messages hinted at threats of physical harm.
Police say Hayes also showed up at the woman’s place of employment on January 14th and assaulted her by tearing her uniform. On January 17th, he reportedly texted her he was “coming for” her, then threw rocks at her window before fleeing the scene.
The alleged victim lives in the apartment building where Hayes was located Tuesday morning. He’s charged with 3rd Degree Harassment and Providing False Identity Information. If convicted on both charges, he faces a maximum of 60 days in jail.