Iowa City man with history of thefts arrested after allegedly pawning stolen wedding ring

Hunter
07/24/24

An Iowa City man who has several theft convictions was arrested after he allegedly pawned a stolen wedding ring.

On the night of June 25th, a home was burglarized, with the victim’s purse stolen.  Inside the purse was the woman’s personal debit and credit cards, and a wedding ring valued over $10,000.

The next afternoon, 55-year-old Eric Burgess of South Dodge Street  and his roommates, 65-year-old Jacquelyn Somers and 67-year old Nathan Burgs, drove from Iowa City to EZ Pawn in Cedar Rapids and pawned the ring for $600.00. All three suspects were captured on security video; Burgess was interviewed and reportedly said they all knew the ring was stolen.

A search warrant was executed at Burgess’ residence, where the victim’s stolen cards were allegedly recovered.

Court records show that Burgess has an extensive criminal history that includes 18 prior theft convictions, 1 burglary charge, and 5 convictions for lottery ticket theft. Burgs has two robbery convictions, nine prior Theft convictions, and five burglary convictions.

All three were charged with 1st degree Theft. If convicted, they face a prison sentence of up to ten years.