Iowa City car theft suspect now faces more charges

IOWA CITY - The Iowa City man arrested last week for stealing a car and breaking into other vehicles faces additional charges.

According to criminal complaints, 31-year-old Jonathan T.N. Cowart - already in custody for second-degree theft, four counts of third-degree burglary and drunken driving - now faces charges of first-degree theft, third-degree theft and trespass stemming from two separate incidents.

Officers were dispatched to a residence on East College Street on Aug. 1 for a report of a stolen 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche. Police said the truck was recovered on Aug. 6 at a residence on Dearborn Street where Cowart lived before he was evicted. Police said they found a lottery ticket inside the truck. Using information from the Iowa Lottery, police determined where and when the ticket was purchased. Police said surveillance video from the convenience store where the ticket was purchased showed Cowart driving the stolen truck, purchasing gas and entering the store, which he had previously been banned from entering.

The truck was valued at $10,000 to $11,000, police said.

On Aug. 13, police took a report of an iPhone and cash stolen from the Robert Lee Recreation Center. Police said they entered the phone's serial number into the National Crime Information Center database and determined at had been sold at an ecoATM kiosk at the Coral Ridge Mall on Aug. 14 for $200 cash. The kiosk produced four photos of Cowart, including one of the identification he used to sell the phone.

Cowart's new charges carry a potential sentence of up to 12 years in prison.