Marion man accused of spying on women in Iowa City

Apr. 19, 2021 9:44 am, Updated: Apr. 19, 2021 3:33 pm

Patrick W. Martinson

IOWA CITY — A Marion man is accused of spying on women inside their homes last fall.

According to Iowa City police criminal complaints and court documents, police were called to a residence in the 300 block of South Dodge Street around 2:37 a.m. Oct. 22 for a woman who reported seeing a camera flash outside of her bedroom window. The woman told police she looked out and saw a “male figure” outside. When she ran outside to try to identify the man, she saw a red truck leaving the area, police said.

Less than 10 minutes later, police were called to a residence in the 500 block of South Johnson Street for a report of a man knocking on a woman’s window. The woman reported this had happened around 2:29 a.m. She told police she saw a flashlight. The man asked her to open her blinds and undress, she said.

The woman told police a similar incident had occurred Oct. 17 around 3 a.m. The woman closed her blinds, turned off the lights and ignored the incident, police said.

Police were called back to the same residence on South Dodge Street around 2:28 a.m. Oct. 24 for a report of someone knocking on a window. The woman armed herself with a knife and tried to find the person knocking, but was unsuccessful, police said.

A man was back at the South Dodge Street residence around 3 a.m. Oct. 25. Police said an officer arrived minutes later, observed a red truck and made a traffic stop. The driver was identified as 40-year-old Patrick W. Martinson of Marion.

When asked what he was doing in the area, Martinson told police he was looking at houses to rent. He gave officers his address and phone number and was sent on his way, police said.

Police said traffic camera footage showed Martinson’s 2015 red Dodge Ram a short distance from both the South Dodge Street and South Johnson Street residences on Oct. 22. Police obtained a search warrant for Martinson’s phone. Data showed Martinson was in Iowa City on the nights the incidents were reported.

Martinson has been arrested and faces two counts of invasion of privacy, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in jail.