Three men arrested after ‘strong-arm robbery’ at I-80 rest stop near Tiffin

JOHNSON COUNTY - The Johnson County Sheriff's Office said three men were arrested Tuesday morning in connection with a strong-arm robbery at a rest stop on Interstate 80 near Tiffin.

According to a news release, deputies responded at 8:45 a.m. to the westbound Tiffin rest area on I-80, near mile marker 237.

Three men 'restrained and forcibly took” the victims' cash, the sheriff's office said.

The people who were robbed were traveling through Iowa to get home to another state when they stopped at the rest area, deputies said.

The sheriff's office said the suspects - later identified as Adam Smith, 35, Robert Chandler, 40, and Jerry Chandler Jr., 48, all of Cincinnati - were westbound on I-80 near mile marker 211 when officers caught up to them and initiated a traffic stop.

The three were taken into custody. Each faces a charge of second-degree robbery.

Iowa City police spokesman Sgt. Derek Frank said investigators looked into the possibility the rest stop robbery was related to an armed robbery of an Iowa City convenience story early Tuesday, but determined there was no connection.

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