Lang
7/19/23
An Iowa City man faces charges that he was storing over $1,500 in stolen merchandise inside his garage and apartment.
Property management at 2110 Broadway Street say they notified police just before 11:45 last Friday morning that a garage on their property was filled with items stolen from them and one of their contractors. The tenant who was using the garage, 30-year-old Shadoe Van Damme, reportedly claimed he purchased the tools for $250 from someone at the Free Lunch Program. Van Damme allegedly said he knew the deal was “too good to be true”.
Police say Van Damme is the only person with a code to his garage. A search of his apartment reportedly turned up over $1,500 in stolen property, which was returned to property management and the contractor. An investigation determined that Van Damme had been using the garage for over a year, and that the items had been stolen from another garage on the property.
Van Damme was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 12:15 Wednesday morning and charged with 2nd Degree Theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison.