Two witnesses interviewed, Iowa City shooting investigation continues

Four days after a homeless man was shot to death in Iowa City, two men who say they saw the shooting spoke to investigators at the Iowa City Police Department.

Mike Tibbetts and Brock Brones were subpoenaed Monday and interviewed by investigators today.

"Some of what they said was at odds with what other witnesses said," Sgt. Troy Kelsay said.

Now investigators are trying to verify whether Tibbetts and Brones were where they said they were when the shooting occurred. If investigators can establish that they were in a car watching when Deputy Terry Stotler shot John Deng, their accounts will be useful to police.

"It isn't a bad thing that there's conflicting accounts," Kelsay said. "I don't want a scripted response. I want their honest impressions."

Deng stabbed John Bohnenkamp, of Iowa City, during an altercation outside a bar on Prentiss Street. Stotler, who was on-duty, happened by and intervened to break up what he thought was a fight. Deng tried to attack Bohnenkamp again with a knife, police have said, when Stotler shot him once, killing him.

Brones and Tibbetts said Deng had no knife, and that he didn't lunge at Bohnenkamp. After speaking with The Gazette on Saturday, Tibbetts blew off a scheduled appointment with police Monday, Kelsay said, and Brones didn't return phone calls. Both men were subpoenaed at work Monday afternoon.

"(Investigators) are actively trying to scrutinize their story and they are actively looking for other witnesses," Kelsay said.