Inmate who escaped from University Hospitals charged

A Fairfield man accused of escaping from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in December while a jail inmate was booked into Johnson County Jail Wednesday to face charges here.

Anthony M. Koehlhoeffer, 20, faces charges of third-degree kidnapping, second-degree robbery, second-degree theft and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident.

Koehlhoeffer earlier this month pleaded guilty to robbery, theft and eluding charges in Scott County, where he ended up after a series of alleged carjackings. Johnson County authorities had been waiting for that case to be resolved before charging Koehlhoeffer.

On Dec. 15, Koehlhoeffer was in the custody of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office for charges there when he was taken to the hospital for treatment. The sheriff's office and hospital have disputed who was responsible for Koehlhoeffer while he was at the hospital, but regardless, he managed to escape.

Koehlhoeffer ran to the nearby Rienow Residence Hall and ordered a person to “get the (explicative) out of the car,” according to a University of Iowa Police criminal complaint. The person tried to shut the door but Koehlhoeffer hit the person in the face three to four times and left the scene with the car.

Koehlhoeffer then stole an unoccupied and running vehicle at Hawkeye Convenience, 2875 Commerce Dr., but crashed it a few blocks away, according to an Iowa City Police complaint. A woman offered to give him a ride to a gas station, and Koehlhoeffer got in and told her to “drive,  drive, drive” because the police were after him, police said.

Koehlhoeffer refused to get out at several gas stations, saying he needed to get to Davenport, and at one point grabbed the woman by the neck. The woman said she felt if she did not take him to Davenport he would hurt her, and she thought she “was going to die,” according to police.

He carjacked another vehicle in the Quad Cities and was eventually arrested when he crashed that car in Bettendorf.