Man accused of stealing bike from Iowa City police storage

IOWA CITY - An Iowa City man is accused of stealing a bike from an Iowa City police storage area.

According to an Iowa City police criminal complaint, a witness saw a man, later identified as 41-year-old Darnell J. Washington, climbing into a fenced enclosure inside the Chauncey Swan parking ramp belonging to the police department. Police said the storage area is locked, secure and not open to the public.

Washington is accused of taking a bike from the storage area and tossing it over the fence.

Police said Washington claimed he found the bike on the lower level of the parking ramp. However, the bike still had a police department property tag connected to the handle bars, police said.

Washington was arrested and faces one count of third-degree burglary, a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.