Lang
10/11/24
The Iowa Supreme Court is recommending criminal charges be dropped against a former member of the Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission due to a timing issue in scheduling court dates.
45-year-old Eric Harris is accused of trying to set himself on fire at his Sandusky Drive residence in March of 2023. Iowa City Police say he held a blowtorch to furniture and his own face while other people, including two children, were inside the house. Harris was initially charged with 1st Degree Arson and two counts of Child Endangerment. Those charges were later reduced to Child Endangerment, Reckless Use of Fire and 2nd Degree Harassment.
Harris was arrested two minutes before midnight on March 25th, 2023. But he wasn’t booked into the Johnson County Jail until 12:30 on the morning of March 26th. Prosecutors had 45 days to file trial information, which they did on May 10th, 2023. That’s 45 days after Harris was booked into jail, but technically 46 days after his arrest.
Harris’ lawyers argued that the 45 day timeline should have started with their client’s arrest. The Iowa Supreme Court has now agreed with Harris’ legal team, and is recommending the charges be dropped. The charges were still active on the Iowa Courts web site as of Friday morning.