Iowa City man accused of damaging cars early Wednesday morning

IOWA CITY - A drunken Iowa City man is accused of damaging cars early Wednesday morning.

According to an Iowa City police criminal complaint, officers responded to the 900 block of College Street around 3 a.m. Wednesday for a report of someone breaking windows out of vehicles. Responding officers found 22-year-old Zachary D. Ries - who matched the suspect description - in the area. Ries was carrying a sign post, police said.

Ries denied any wrongdoing when asked about the broken car windows, police said. However, police said Ries smelled strongly of alcohol and had trouble balancing. He told police he was walking home from a downtown bar and admitted to drinking. A preliminary breath test showed his blood alcohol content to be .140 percent.

Police said a witness came to the scene and positively identified Ries as the one who was damaging car windows. Four vehicles were estimated to have sustained a total of $2,000 in damages, police said.

Ries was arrested and faces charges of second-degree criminal mischief, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison; and public intoxication, a simple misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail.