Cedar Rapids man in custody in Iowa City stabbings

A Cedar Rapids man is in the Johnson County Jail this morning on charges stemming from the stabbing of two men in downtown Iowa City early today.

Molike Jerome Bennett, 37, faces two counts of willful injury, a class C felony.

Police were called to the 200 block of South Linn Street in Iowa City at 2:23 a.m. and found two male victims, conscious, but suffering from multiple stab wounds to their abdomen area.

Witnesses described three suspects, two white males and one black male, who fled towards the Dubuque Street parking ramp. Street Crimes Investigator Chris Akers observed the black male enter the parking ramp off Dubuque Street, and he and other officers established a perimeter around the ramp.

Two suspects were found in the lower level of the ramp, one of whom had suffered head and facial injuries. He was taken to University Hospitals. The black male suspect was found hiding beneath a parked vehicle.

All three suspects were identified by witnesses as being involved in the original altercation, which began when residents of 200 S. Linn Street were having a party. The residents were outside on their steps when the three subjects walked onto the premises uninvited, and words were exchanged that led to a fight, then to the stabbings.

The stabbing victims were taken to University Hospitals. Their condition is unknown.

Additional charges are expected, police said.