Suspect pleads guilty to charges he stole over $1,000 in fireworks from Iowa City sales tent

Lang
1/23/24

A suspect accused of stealing over $1,000 in fireworks from an Iowa City sales tent has entered a guilty plea.

40-year-old Calvin Edwards made the plea Monday as part of a deal with prosecutors. Details of the plea deal have not been released.

Iowa City Police say just before 12:30am on June 24th they found Edwards and 59-year-old Curtis Seals…both of Cross Park Avenue…pushing a shopping cart full of fireworks through a parking lot near the intersection of Southgate Avenue and Keokuk Street.  The two were accused of forcing their way inside the nearby fireworks tent in the Waterfront Hy-Vee parking lot and taking a shopping cart full of merchandise. The tent had been closed for business since 9pm.

The total value of the stolen fireworks was listed at $1,113.73.

Both men were charged with 3rd Degree Burglary and 3rd Degree Theft. Charges against Seals were dismissed earlier this month. A sentencing date for Edwards has not yet been set.

If convicted on both charges, they each could have faced a maximum of seven years in prison.