Iowa City 16-year-old charged in pizza delivery robbery, faced with adult charges

A 16-year-old Iowa City teen was arrested Monday in connection with the armed robbery of a pizza delivery person in April and on a new charge of threatening that victim not to testify in court.

Daniel Leroy Hodges, faces charges of felony first-degree robbery and tampering with a witness or juror, an aggravated misdemeanor. Because those crimes are forcible crimes, according to authorities, his case is starting in adult court, where a judge will decide whether to keep it there or bump it down to juvenile court.

According to Iowa City police, Hodges ordered pizza from Papa John's before midnight on April 23 and then approached the delivery person with what appeared to be a weapon inside a grocery sack.

The female delivery driver arrived at 1715 Deforest Ave. about 11:55 p.m., and Hodges is accused of approaching her with the apparent weapon and demanding money, saying, “Don't make me hurt you, you have five seconds to give me the money,” according to a criminal complaint.

Hodges also told the victim, according to investigators, that he would shoot her in the head if she did not give him more money. Hodges is accused of fleeing the area with $20 and two pizza bags, according to the complaint.

On Thursday – months after the alleged robbery – Hodges is accused of going to the home of the victim and confronting her about a statement she wrote in connection with the incident. Hodges is accused of telling the defendant, “If you did write a statement, you better not show up to court,” according to police.

Hodges was arrested Monday evening on the robbery and tampering charges and taken to the Linn County Detention Center. He made an initial appearance in Johnson County on Tuesday morning, and he's being held a separate facility from the jail in lieu of $50,500 bond.

Hodges has other juvenile cases in Johnson County dating back to 2006, when he was given probation for a criminal mischief charge at just 10 years old, according to online court records. When he was 12, in 2008, he was charged with operating a vehicle without consent, failure to have a valid license and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

Hodges also was charged with false report of an indictable crime on April 25 and third-degree burglary on April 30, according to online court records. It's unclear whether or how those charges are related to the robbery charge related to the April 23 incident.

Two other juveniles who have been charged with felonies or aggravated misdemeanors in Iowa City in the last four months have had their cases kept in adult court, according to officials with the Sheriff's Office.