Williamsburg man faces charges after landfill crash

IOWA CITY - A Williamsburg man faces multiple charges after police say he drunkenly drove through a fence at the Iowa City Landfill.

According to Iowa City police criminal complaints, sometime early Sunday morning, 26-year-old Justin L. Banks was driving and got a flat tire. Banks left the road and crashed through a fence into the landfill.

Police said Banks called a tow truck, but the driver saw the damage and opted to call police. When an officer responded, Banks was found asleep - or passed out - behind the wheel of his Jeep. Police said he smelled of alcohol, showed signs of intoxication and admitted to drinking. Two breath tests showed his blood alcohol content to be between .121 and .132 percent, police said.

Banks was arrested for drunken driving and his vehicle was impounded. Police searched the vehicle and founded a loaded pistol, spare magazine and holster in the glove box. Banks does not have a permit to carry a weapon and is on probation after pleading guilty to an Iowa drug tax stamp violation, a Class D felony.

In addition to the drunken driving charge, Banks also faces charges of dominion of a firearm by a felon, a Class D felony, and carrying weapons, an aggravated misdemeanor.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com