Iowa City teen accused of armed robbery of vape pens

An Iowa City teenager was arrested this week on charges he robbed a liquor store at gunpoint last week for vape pens.

Preston Krotz, 16, is charged as an adult with one count of first-degree robbery, a Class B felony, and one count of a person under 21 using tobacco/vapor product. He had his first appearance in court Monday and is being held on a $25,000 bail.

Iowa City police released a photo last week of a person of interest in a robbery at 9:03 p.m. June 5 at Liquor Downtown, 315 S. Gilbert St.

Krotz later was arrested for the robbery, during which he showed the clerk a note on his phone saying he’d shoot him if he didn’t hand over Mr. Fog vape pens and then flashed what appeared to be a gun, according to a criminal complaint.

When Krotz was taken into custody, he had a Mr. Fog vape pen in his pocket, the complaint states. The complaint does not say whether the gun was found.

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