Lang
5/21/23
A pair of Iowa City men is accused of burglarizing the vehicle of an 87-year-old woman in a grocery store parking lot.
Iowa City Police say 18-year-old Mekhi Wright of the Pheasant Ridge Apartments approached the woman as she was taking groceries to her car in the parking lot of the Westwinds Drive Fareway just after 10am on May 1st. Wright allegedly entered the car while the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat, took her purse, and fled towards Wright’s apartment with a co-defendant who had been acting as a lookout. The purse contained credit cards, $150 in cash, the woman’s glasses, a wallet and vehicle fobs. The total property loss was estimated at $1,700.
Video from Pheasant Ridge reportedly shows Wright and the lookout…identified as 21-year-old Laron Johnson of Pondview Court…arriving at Wright’s building about four minutes after the theft. A short time later, the stolen credit card was used to make a half-dozen fraudulent online orders. The listed shipping address for all six orders was Wright’s apartment. He also allegedly used his phone number and his girlfriend’s email address.
Wright was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 10:30 Friday morning and charged with 2nd Degree Burglary. If convicted, he faces a maximum of ten years in prison.
Johnson was arrested outside El Ray’s Live and Dive on Iowa Avenue just after 2am Sunday. He reportedly had Adderall on his person at the time of his arrest. He allegedly told police that he didn’t know Wright, that he fled in a different direction after the theft, and that the other suspect was a Mexican West High student who lived on Mossy Glen Court. Investigators determined none of that information was correct.
Johnson was also wanted for a May 12th assault at the Town and Campus Apartments where he allegedly punched another man in the face just after 9:45pm. He’s now charged with 2nd Degree Burglary, Assault and Possession of a Controlled Substance. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of over 11 years behind bars.