Iowa City Police: Trio charged after Facebook was used to barter return of stolen laptop

IOWA CITY - Three people face charges after Iowa City police say Facebook was used to help barter the return of a stolen laptop in exchange for money.

Daveon Antaun Curry, 24, of Iowa City, Ricky Dwayne Johnson II, 26, of North Liberty, and Empress C. McGee, 28, of Chicago, each were charged with second degree theft, a Class D felony. McGee also faces an extortion charge, also a Class D felony.

Iowa City police found Curry and Johnson in possession of a $1,000 laptop, which police say they knew was stolen, at 1905 Keokuk St. at 10:23 p.m. on Saturday.

They were in the process of returning the laptop in a controlled transaction, according to police. Police said Johnson admitted he 'was going to only return the laptop to the victim if the victim paid him.”

Police recovered the laptop.

McGee was part of the controlled transaction, according to police, as she was responsible for communicating with the victim. She used a second Facebook account to send the victim several messages stating 'they found the victims laptop and would only return it if the victim paid them $250,” according to a police report.

McGee threatened to destroy the laptop if the victim didn't pay them, according to the police report.

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