Cedar Rapids man wrote bad checks for two cars, Iowa City police say

Iowa City police say a Cedar Rapids man stole two cars by writing bad checks.

According to police reports, James B. Horn, 56, went to Carousel Motors, 809 Highway 1 W., on March 20 and wrote a personal check in the amount of $60,668.95 to purchase a new Mercedes-Benz along with additional warranty items. The dealership accepted the check as a valid payment in full, police say.

Police said the dealership later found out the account used for Horn's checks had been closed for some time. Horn attempted to sell the stolen car to another dealership out of town a few days later, police said.

Two days later, police said he and another man wrote a personal check for $36,185.93 to purchase a new Chevrolet Camaro from Billion Chevrolet, 1600 Highway 1 W. The dealer also found out the account had been closed for some time, police said.

Horn was charged with two counts of first-degree theft, a class C felony.